Bollywood stars are getting the second chance that the film industry could never offer.
Everyone is going gaga over actress Sushmita Sen's performance in the recently-launched web series Aarya on Disney+Hotstar.
Be it viewers or critics, one sentiment is common, what OTT has done for Sen, movies could not do it for years, both on the financial and on the talent fronts.
When we say financially, OTT does pay actors well.
According to a producer, a mid-level star could anywhere get between Rs 1 to 2 crore. A bigger star gets in the range of Rs 7 to 8 crore for a full season. A small star gets around Rs 25 lakh for a full season or even a decent Rs 50,000 per day or even Rs 20 -30 thousand per day.
It all depends on the calibre of the star and the repertoire of work.
If we look at Saif Ali Khan's digital debut with Sacred Games, the number game looks strong for actors coming on to OTT.
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Reportedly, Khan charges anywhere between Rs 7-10 crore for a film. In that case, his fees for Sacred Games did see a good markup with Rs 15 crore.
Also, reportedly,the budget for the second season of Sacred Games doubled to Rs 100 crore.
The web series definitely has turned around Khan's career.
In fact, the second season of the series was the most popular release of 2019, according to a list put out by Netflix in 2019.
The platform compiled a list of most-watched shows and films on the platform by taking into consideration the number of accounts watching at least two minutes of content during its first 28 days on Netflix in 2019.
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Before the web series on Netflix, Khan gave a slew of weak performances at the box office.
Jawaani Jaaneman with a budget of Rs 34 crore earned Rs 28 crore. Laal Kaptaan pocketed Rs 3 crore and the film's budget was Rs 41 crore. Baazaar, Kaalakaandi and many other films came on the big screen and made no impact on the box office.
So, it would not be wrong to say that Aarya has given a new lease of life to Sushmita Sen's career.
The actress who entered the film industry in 1996 with Dastak has seen more flops than hits. What is more disappointing is that Sen's talent and potential which one clearly sees in Aarya was never translated on the big screen.
The audience mostly remember her as the pretty face in Main Hoon Na or Biwi No.1.
But, now things will change Sen like it did for many other actors.
Other stars who have tasted success on the alternate screen include R Madhavan in the first season of Breathe, one of the most talked-about shows of Amazon Prime Video.
What is more interesting is that audiences will see Abhishek Bachchan in the second season of the web series which will start streaming in July.
So, be it Karisma Kapoor in Mentalhood or Arshad Warsi in Asur, Bollywood stars are getting the second chance that the film industry could never offer.
And, now even mega stars like Akshay Kumar are taking the OTT route.
While OTT is making a mark in the entertainment space, it is still looked down upon by big stars. However, Kumar's debut with the show The End on Amazon Prime Video will probably do what Kaun Banega Crorepati did for television.
