Bengali actor Gaurav Chakrabarty is gearing up for the release of his upcoming Zee5 web series by filmmaker Anjan Dutt, Seven. Ahead of the Mar 17 release, IBNS correspondent Souvik Ghosh catches up with the actor

Q. How does money bring out the shades in your character?

A. Not just my character, all five friends, who have been shown, change with the discovery of a bag full of money. All five characters start revealing their vices. It gave me an ample opportunity to explore the character.

Q. How was uniting with Anjan Dutt?

A. It has been very enriching. Working with Anjan Dutt is always a very educational experience. Anjan Dutt’s style of direction is very acting-oriented. He gives a lot of freedom to his cast. We have modified a lot of scenes on the set with impromptu lines. Anjan-da’s shooting process is very planned and organised which helps in an industry which has budget constraints. It’s a huge thing for me as an actor.

Q. So the product eventually becomes very organic?

A. Absolutely. We feel very engaged and involved in the entire process because of Anjan-da’s mode of working. So an organic product, which becomes evident onscreen, comes out.

Photography: Avishek Mitra/IBNS

Q. You have worked much on television and films. How do you view OTT?

A. I feel OTT is somewhere between cinema and television. Cinema gives a community viewing experience which television and OTT can’t replace. OTT has reached the doorstep of every viewer. One can consume content anytime through OTT, which gives a very personal experience. What OTT has done is it has captured the market of television to some extent. But every medium has its own place which is completely distinct.

Q. Do you feel sad over the change in trend of daily soaps on television?

A. I feel the crux of all daily soaps are more or less similar. Only the casting remains the point of distinction. I won’t call the daily soaps extreme poor but they are mostly repetitive. Somehow all stories are leading to the same point and that is my only complaint against television. But the audience is liking them so such projects are being made considering the commercial importance. We can’t deny the fact that the television industry yields much more revenue than the film industry. Taking risks to explore some new subject is very tough when commerce plays a big role.

(Photography: Avishek Mitra/IBNS)