Ever since the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, the digital world is the sector that benefitted the most. There has been a significant change in the manner in which the audience has been consuming content with entertainment at their home. Paresh Rawal and Ratna Pathak have been in the industry for over four decades now and believe that this is the best phase for the Hindi film industry.
“The so-called star system has been impacted due to the OTT boom. Today, Pankaj Tripathi Ji, Divyendu Sharma, Jaideep Ahlawat are as big a star as anyone else. And it’s a great thing,” says Paresh Rawal. Ratna Pathak agrees and is quick to add, “And the biggest star is the story and writing. I was waiting to see a day in my life when the story is at the forefront and it has finally come. The writing was so shabby in our films and such poor quality work made so much money. It was embarrassing but now I am glad to see pumped up skills in all departments.”
While the pandemic fastened the process of transition, Paresh insists that the change kicked off way back in 2005. “It was a gradual process since the time Anurag Kashyap and the likes came into picture. The multi-national companies too brought in a lot more discipline in the industry,” he adds. The OTT revolution has also amped up the content in regional industries and Ratna Pathak, who once dismissed Gujarati cinema, is happy to see it grow and is even open to acting in one. “Gujarati is my mother tongue and I would love to do a Gujarati film now. Hopefully, I will have one soon,” she smiles.
Paresh is quick to inform that he is making a comeback to Gujarati cinema after 40 long years. “I just completed a film called Dear Father and it was very exciting to work in our mother tongue. The limited economy permits us to explore a subject in the way we want to. It was like a drama tour for a month. I would like to do at-least Gujarati films a year,” Paresh shares.
The actor is quick to add that the present phase of content is exciting the actor in him too. “I have done 90% of the films for money because it’s these films that act as a support system to try different subjects. It’s all a part of the ecosystem,” Paresh signs off. The duo will soon be seen in Hum Do Hamare Do, which is gearing up for a Diwali premiere on Hotstar. Watch the full video here.
