New Delhi: There are innumberable actors who are power house of talent but they failed to leave their mark in Bollywood. Either they couldn’t live up to expectations or the industry couldn’t harness their true potential – this could be a matter of debate but these actors are today the real drivers of OTT platforms.
OTT has brought a drastic change in how the film industry works. Web series have not only add binge-worthy content but also revived the career of many brilliant actors whose talent was rejected by the Bollywood. Today, they are the face of web-series in the industry.
Here’s a list of 10 influential actors on streaming platforms, widely acclaimed and showered with love for their powerful presence on the screen.
1) Radhika Apte
Radhika has proved herself to be one hell of an actress. She would play characters of extensive difference quite naturally. Apte starred in a number of Hindi and other regional films, but was mostly sidelined due to the star-culture in the industry. Though, her career revived after she was featured on web-series like Ghoul, Sacred Game and Phobia. Radhika garnered recognition in masses after appearing in these web-series. There was a time she could be seen in every other project of Netflix, netizens shared memes on it for a while after which Netflix even changed its bio to ‘Just another Radhika Apte fan account’.
2) KK Menon
Menon have had a long career of 25 years in Bollywood and television industry. The actor does not need an illustration for his impeccable acting, though he was rarely given any lead roles and mostly seen in negative or side roles.
KK was last seen in ‘Special OPS’ on Hotstar, and his performance by widely treasured by the audience. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the show was a hit majorly because of KK’s outstanding presence in the web-series.
3) Pankaj Tripathi
Despite being a part of many Bollywood projects, there was a time this actor stopped receiving any offers for films. Though his portrayal of the character ‘Kaleen Bhaiya’ in Mirzapur and ‘Guruji’ in Sacred Games added him to the ‘King of OTT’ club.
4) Divyendu Sharma
Divyendu made his debut in the Indian film-industry from the film ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’, in which his character ‘liquid’ was applauded by the viewers. It was very much expected that he would receive major roles in the films, though it never happened. His career, however, revived when he appeared in the role of ‘Munna Bhaiya’ in the popular web-series Mirzapur on Amazon Prime. The ‘Munna Bhaiya’ character has a seperate fan following of its own.
5) Rasika Duggal
Rasika has actively been working in Bollywood films since 2007. Many of her films are internationally acclaimed, yet the actress gained recognition from her role ‘Beena Tripathy’ in the Mirzapur series on Amazon Prime.
6) Arjun Mathur
Arjun have worked in the films even before the OTT emerged, yet the actor received recognition after his debut web-series ‘Made in Heaven’. Arjun portrayed a challenging role of a homo-sexual wedding planner in the series.
7) Amit Sadh
Amit was underlined despite his debut film ‘kai po che’ and his performance was praised by the critics and audiences. His calibre was recognized much later when he was seen in the web-series ‘Breathe’ with R Madhavan.
8) Jaideep Ahlawat
Jaideep was type-casted in a particular category of roles by the Bollywood. Though, he received more significant roles on OTT platforms. His character Hathiram Chaudhary from ‘Pataalok’ was highly praised.
9) Pratik Gandhi
Pratik is a renowned name in Gujrati Cinema. Though among Hindi audiences he is known for his outstanding performance in ‘Scam 1990’, which received 9.4 star rating on IMDB.
10) Harshvardan Rane
Harsh is a familiar face in Telugu cinema, who would have been a part of many projects in Bollywood after his film ‘Sanam Teri Kasam’, if he was a star kid. His potential was though recognised after 2020 OTT released ‘Taish’.
