Mumbai: Praising the democratic nature of the streaming world, Vivek Oberoi said the digital medium has empowered talent, their backgrounds notwithstanding.
Oberoi, who made his acting debut 20 years ago with Ram Gopal Varma's acclaimed gangster drama 'Company', was one of the early Bollywood actors to foray into OTT with the Emmy-nominated sports drama 'Inside Edge'.
"I love the democracy of OTT. I hope it stays. I felt empowered outside of lobbying. On OTT, it doesn't matter who you are, what you do matters. If your work is good, you will get appreciation," the actor, also known for 'Saathiya', 'Omkara' and 'Shootout at Lokhandwala', told the top news agency.
There are no trappings of the number game or fight to get maximum screens to release a movie on over-the-top (OTT) platforms, he added.
"It is extremely liberating because it does not come with the paraphernalia of what Bollywood has become. Everyone talks about the number of theatres in which a film releases, the cost of promotion, publicity and the lobby. Some people single-handedly have so much power that they can crush somebody else. All of that goes away on OTT."
Following the success of his 'Prime Video' sports series 'Inside Edge', the actor said he received quite a few offers but chose to opt for diverse projects like 'Dharavi Bank' and Rohit Shetty's upcoming series debut, 'India Police Force' with 'Prime Video'.
'Dharavi Bank' features Suniel Shetty as don Thalaivan from Mumbai's slum area Dharavi and Oberoi as a cop Jayant Gavaskar.