Then read: Shriya Saran Recalls the Emotional Journey of Pregnancy; Says Nakuul Mehta was ‘very lost’ during wife’s pregnancy

“Television actors have insane work schedules”

While discussing the challenges faced by film and television actors in transitioning to OTT platforms, Shriya Saran also praised television actors for their hard work, particularly their demanding work hours. “The thing about television is that you live with the character for many months. Their hours are crazy. They literally work 20 hours, so from the time they arrive on set to the time they leave, it’s crazy. 16 or 17 hours is normal.”

When Nakuul Mehta was asked if he has been in a similar situation, the Ishqbaaz actor replied, “Luckily it didn’t happen to me. I made my contracts very tight. I worry about my life. But that’s true, top actors on television put in those kind of hours.” Shriya added, “If you work so many hours and they manage to retain their audience for so long, it means they are highly evolved actors. Television actors are super evolved in terms of the work they do.”

Summing up, Nakuul shared, “There are good and bad actors in every medium, so generalizing is difficult. But it’s also up to you to be able to try different things. You won’t know if you belong to a certain medium until you try.”

Nakuul on venturing into the OTT space even before its rise

Maybe not many know it, but Nakuul Mehta produced a web show in 2016, 3-4 years before the OTT boom happened in the country. Nakuul said taking the leap of faith, before the platform had fully evolved, came from a desire to create his own space. “When I started doing television, after my first show, I said I really loved this medium. I love how the audience can try your work, but I also wanted to do other work. But people wouldn’t necessarily see you as material for other work, so I thought I was going to create something that was mine. That also has to do with being young, stupid and brave. I wrote a random tweet to Ronnie Screwvala,” Nakuul shared.

He added: “I had heard he was producing stuff online even before OTT came out. I told him I had a crazy idea for you and he replied with an email address. Then I emailed him the idea and he asked me to pitch it to the creative director. I met Ronnie and he said, ‘How much money do you need?’ So, you need to dream big. If you had asked me a few years ago if I would be sitting here giving an interview to Shriya, I would have never imagined it. She was a big star when I was starting out. But it’s good to see that at this point in his career he’s interested in good stories.”