During the interaction, acclaimed actor Jaideep Ahlawat spoke passionately about how the OTT revolution has changed storytelling and acting, giving creators a new level of freedom. He highlighted how longer screen time and binge-watch formats have allowed characters to grow naturally.
Sharing his thoughts, Jaideep said: “A new platform has opened up. Earlier you needed a 22-minute episode or a 2.5-hour film to tell a story. Now, you can tell a story in 1 hour, 2 hours, or even over 8–9 hours. That liberty that writers and directors got eventually reached actors too.”
He added that longer formats allow deeper understanding and real emotional connection: “When a story is told in more detail, you learn much more about the character. The change that OTT brought was in the way stories could be told, new structure, new freedom. Cinema has its own format, but this space opened a big opportunity for us.”
Explaining how theatre-like focus and intensity help actors grow, Jaideep compared long-format storytelling to performing a live play without breaks: “It’s like you enter a 3-hour play, the curtain opens and now no one can do anything. Whatever happens will be seen. You need patience and hard work. That confidence reached actors, now we can carry an 8-hour story.”
