Lara Dutta: OTT has led to a greater representation of 'real' characters

Mumbai, April 25 (IANS) Actress Lara Dutta made her streaming debut in 2020 with the action-comedy series ‘Hundred’. Four years later, the actress has another show, 'Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond', streaming on OTT.

Having spent close to half a decade in the streaming medium, the actress shared insights regarding OTT.

The actress said that the streaming medium today is growing tremendously, with many platforms coming into the picture. With numerous platforms available, there are greater avenues to explore different characters.

Lara emphasised that OTT inspires a greater representation of characters, particularly bringing “real” characters to the forefront.

Elaborating on this, the actress told IANS: "The wonderful thing about OTT is that because there are so many platforms, you are addressing different segments of an audience. You have to create content that speaks to all of them."

"It has resulted in not just greater representation of characters from different walks of life but also ones that are 'real'. OTT is a complete game-changer and has tremendous growth in the future," she said.

Lara also spoke about her character in ‘Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond’, describing her as a lone wolf - someone who is ready to give her all for the country.

The actress said: "Manisha doesn’t have a military background, but there are some similarities between us. I think the script is your starting point for a character. Manisha is a lone wolf, and she’s very straightforward. It was interesting and fascinating to build out this kind of character for me. She's kind of careless about people and stuff, but when it comes to the country, she's ready to give everything."

"My approach to the character is to flesh out what you have never seen in the character, like the background story of the character. To create a character like Manisha Sehgal, I prepared from scratch. I’m sure when the audience watches this series, it will keep them on the edge of excitement," she added.

'Ranneeti: Balakot & Beyond’ streams on JioCinema.