Asha Negi: Everyone wants to be on digital platforms

She began her acting career with the TV show Pavitra Rishta only to take a break from the tube for few years and return with a bang on OTT. She starred in web shows Baarish S1 and recently Baarish S2 and Abhay S2 in the last few months.

Negi admits that it was tough for her to wait for projects she wanted to be a part of “as offers on TV weren’t exciting”. “I was getting repetitive roles that of damsel-in-distress or girl-next-door and I became impatient as I had hoped for better roles. I made wrong choices and at one point, I thought maybe I will be a one show wonder and this was it for me. I did some non-fiction shows which kept me busy and then I decided to take a break. It was difficult as I began questioning myself about the hiatus and it also shook my confidence to see my friends getting good projects. Today, I am glad I gave myself that time as I worked on myself as a person and actor,” she says.

After her break she starred in Baarish, co-starring Sharman Joshi which was appreciated by the audiences. She feels today, “everyone wants to be on digital platforms”. “Content is king on OTT. One gives a few months to an OTT project and there is more scope for creativity and performance. Through OTT, TV actors are being taken seriously as now filmmakers can appreciate their performances they see online. Digital platforms have become a bridge for film and TV actors.”

With theatres being shut and a lot of content including films being released on OTT, Negi feels it might add to clutter online. “You get all kinds of audiences on OTT and because things are working well for digital platforms, everyone is heading there. It is also a herd mentality which happens on TV too. If something works, everyone wants a part of it. The more, the merrier though only the best content will sustain,” says the actor who will be seen in Anurag Basu’s Ludo next.