The year 2020 saw a major shift in the dynamics of the star-system. You no longer had to be a Khan or a Kapoor to be a national star. Tripathi aur Sharma bhi chalega. Here's a look at the 5 biggest stars on the OTT platform.
Pankaj Tripathi: Of course he is a big name in cinema. But Pankaj ruled the digital kingdom in 2020 as he owned it. With Mirzapur 2 and Criminal Justice 2, not to mention his stellar performances in Ludo and Gunjan Saxena, makes Pankaj one of OTT’s superstars. The actor admits he was never paid by cinema the kind of money he now gets on OTT.
Sushmita Sen: Her almost-extinct movie career was rekindled with the unexpected success of her streaming debut in Aarya, the only big hit on OTT with a female hero in the lead. The home-viewing medium is now wooing her with tons of money for everything including the second season of Aarya. Sen-sational second innings.
Divyenndu Sharma: From Munna Bhaiyya in Mirzapur 2 to Akhil Shrivastav in Bichhoo Ka Khel, Divyenndu seems to have found stardom in the year 2020 filled with COVID crisis. Till last year he was celluloid’s every Bollywood superstar’s favourite best friend. Thankfully Divyenndu didn’t end up being another Rajpal Yadav, thanks to the freedom afforded by the digital platform.
Kirti Kulhari: Bollywood and Hindi cinema didn’t know what to do with her, where to position her. After Four More Shots, Please and Criminal Justice 2 this beautiful actress has blossomed into a prime product of the OTT platform. Interestingly Kirti never felt constricted by lack of opportunities on the big screen. Seeing into the future, she knew one day the big screen will be inside every household in the country.
Abhishek Bannerjee: After playing bit roles in movies, casting director turned actor Abhishek Bannerjee found overnight success in 2020 as the savage sociopath Hathoda Tyagi in the web-series Paatal Lok produced by Anushka Sharma and brother Karnesh. Now Abhishek is being offered more of the same coldblooded killer roles. Typecasting has arrived on OTT. Welcome to the new-age virtual cinema.
Image source: Instagram/pankajtripathi/sushmitasen47/divyenndu/iamkirtikulhari/nowitsabhi/imdb