For Rohit Saraf, 2020 film Ludo was “always special” given it was an Anurag Basu directorial and the story was “fabulous”, but what’s more amazing for the actor has been the response the film has got. “It has been far more amazing than I ever imagined,” he says.
“I recently stepped out to watch one of Akarsh Khurana’s plays and some people came up to me and said ‘We liked the way you played Rahul [in Ludo], we loved your honesty’. You look for such motivating assurances that makes you confident about your craft,” he says.
Like many film, Ludo too took the direct-to-OTT route. “In such times, the web made more sense as the film released in 190 countries to a massive audience across the globe. The 70 mm charm is undeniable, but people are enjoying OTT. It’s about content reaching the audience,” adds Saraf, who garnered praise for another web project, Mismatched.
Quoting actor Rasika Dugal that with OTT no good actor is going to be jobless, he explains, “While there are films that are made for theatres, there are only so many projects that would get a chance to release on the big screen. And now, OTT is that other platform to showcase your work, create more content. It’s definitely a blessing.”
Having spent eight years in showbiz and done TV, film and web, the 24-year-old looks forward to strike a balance between a meaty character and screen time.
Asked if it has been a difficult journey in films given he’s a rank outsider, Saraf says, “I don’t want to disregard any of the struggles others faced, but mine were different. I also gave auditions that never materialised not necessarily because I’m an outsider, but things didn’t work out at many levels.”
However, he agrees that rejections are tough to deal with. “You’ve to be thick-skinned. This is going to happen at every step. I’m also grateful for all the rejections because every time I’ve lost out on a project, something bigger happened,” he ends.
