Raj and DK deny star system is invading OTT space

When streaming platforms first emerged in India, they were regarded as a safe space for performers, in contrast to the star-driven theatrical market. However, the pandemic changed things. As streaming became a more lucrative business, platforms began courting stars with big money. However, filmmakers Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, popularly known as Raj and DK, creators of hit series such as ‘The Family Man’ and ‘Farzi’, said in a recent interview that this isn’t entirely true.

In an interview with ‘Film Companion’, the duo was asked if the star system is invading the OTT space as well.

“I did get the feeling when the streaming came into place that this is actors’ medium. I also look at it in such a way that only an actor can do a series and not a star who is not an actor,” Raj said. Seconding him, DK added, “There’s no compromise for that.”

Raj then denied that stars are taking jobs away from character actors.

He said, “There are a lot of series and movies we make. In the most content we make, we are not going to always keep casting stars. We need a lot more actors there (series), which is the function of the content itself. The way we look at it is that we want to mix it up like we started doing it in ‘Shor in the City’. It is also the budget and the studios’ point of view where they put in a certain amount of money and they want to figure out the way they can recover it. If you are doing a low-budget or low-brow sort of thing, ‘Do whatever you want, cast whoever you want’. Then again, we won’t cast someone who doesn’t fit the character.”