Exclusive! Bidita Bag: Thanks to OTT, movie mafia is decreasing and there is a fair game

Bhaukaal is back with a new season and with that, Bidita Bag and Pradeep Nagar are back in their OTT game (along with Mohit Raina and Siddhanth Kapoor). OTTplay got in touch with Bidita and Pradeep to talk about their stint on OTT, working on Bhaukaal, how OTT is different from theatres and much more. During the interaction, Bidita revealed that while she lost out on many films because of movie mafia and nepotism, OTT has given her, along with many other actors, a fair chance. Excerpts…

How does it feel coming back to Bhaukaal?

Bidita: It feels good. We got the first season two years back. Season two is here after almost two years. It isn't easy to keep a hold of the character for so many years. It was especially difficult for Pradeep. It was tough for me too because I had to gain weight after losing it for The Sholay Girl. I had to put on almost eight kilos for Bhaukaal 2. We shot for the series before lockdown but the project was delayed for six more months and I had to maintain the weight. We lost one of our co-actors too - Major Vikram. It came as a shock. We were shooting in a bubble which was quite difficult, even for Mohit, who got COVID too.

Pradeep: The difficulty was in trying to get permission to shoot during COVID. Even our make-up artists got COVID so it was a scary time. Humko machaana Bhaukaal hai lekin andar se dare pade hai. It was a tough time. However, all's well that ends well. I was working out with Vikram ji one day and the next day he was no more. I dedicate this show to him.

Are your characters adapted from a real life one, like Mohit's? If so, did you happen to meet that person?

Pradeep: 90% of our characters are inspired from real life. It is based on real life and the only person alive out of the lot is Navniet Sekera ji. He is currently the ADG in Lucknow. I spoke to people to understand Pintu Dedha and my writer helped me a lot. Siddhanth Kapoor, who plays my younger brother Chintu Dedha on the show, is ten years older to me. So, I had to also grow a moustache and gain weight for the character. I then got to know that the character is a pehelwan. I took training for that.

Bidita: My character is also inspired from real life. There are many things I had to imagine. Real-life Naaz isn't like what is shown in the show. We took creative liberty and gave Naaz a little twist. However, we kept the qualities of the woman it is inspired from alive.

Bidita, how did you gain weight in such a short span?

It was difficult since I was doing multiple projects. I had gained weight so I could stay in that weight. When I had to show myself as slim, there I did not drink a lot of water to look dehydrated. I increased my salt intake where I had to gain weight but I wouldn't recommend anyone to do that.

Tell me a little about what people should expect from your characters this time around.

P: Most of the times, characters in the second season do not create an impact. We're hoping to change that with Bhaukaal 2 because it is a different language and setting. This time, you will feel you are a part of cinema because of the authentic language and characters.

B: The first season had a lot of action and establishing Muzaffarnagar. This season is more emotional which will show every character's journey, backstory and more.

Pradeep, now that there is a COVID scare again, with news of Omicron spreading across and theatres being shut in various parts of India, people are forced to go back to OTT. So, have you considered doing more projects on OTT?

This is my first show. I have another show which will come on OTT soon. Thanks to this medium, we can reach to every home. You won't believe, the vegetable seller who comes to my home, he called me Pintu Dedha and I had to tell him I'm Pradeep Nagar.

Bidita, ever since your debut in Babumoshai Bandookbaaz in 2016, you had been trying to make your mark in films. You are not the only one. There have been many artists who have struggled to #1 find films and #2 get that film to work. However, when you made your switch to OTT, you have been appreciated. Again, it has happened with many artists. So wouldn't it be right to say that OTT presents artists with more and better opportunities?

B: Yeah, definitely, especially for actors like us who do not have Godfathers. They finally got a lot of opportunity. Usually when you do not have some backing in the industry, your movie term also becomes shorted because big budget films will also be releasing soon. Some people call it movie mafia and nepotism. Thanks to OTT, the game has become fair. It is a fair game for everyone including technicians. You get equal number of screens for each project. It is a great thing.

P: If someone takes me and tries to make a movie with the budget of Rs. 30-40 crores, he would be scared because he would think that I can't pull an audience. Jatin Sarna and Jaideep Ahlawat also got recognized on OTT. Nawaz sir (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) also doesn't have a solo hit film in theatres. I have many friends like them. OTT is the medium where producers take money from OTT but demand real talent and content. The public decides and thus, Jamtara is also a success.

Bidita, what is your take on movie mafia and nepotism? Have your projects suffered because of that?

Yes, definitely. I had signed many projects but was replaced overnight because somebody used their political influence for the project. I read the newspaper and got to about being removed from the project. However, there are a few good products of nepotism as well like Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor. Nepotism has given good directors, actors and producers to the industry so you can't completely diss the concept but I personally have suffered because of the power game. Thanks to OTT, the movie mafia has gone down. That's probably how the world works. I need to work on myself, is what I believe.

Did you take any action when thrown out of a project?

No. I surrendered myself to the universe. COVID has taught us that you can make plans but things don't always work according to you. I always feel that I have something better coming. When I was replaced, I found The Sholay Girl. It wouldn't have happened if I was working on the other project, right?

Pradeep, movies are usually judged on the basis of hit or flop. That concept almost does not exist on OTT. Here, everybody watches everything because it is at the touch of their fingertip. Thus, do you believe that is a better solution than theatres for both artists as well as viewers?

That's right. There are many shows. My brother is India's number one YouTuber but I don't like the content he creates. I was talking to Pankaj Tripathi ji on 83 sets about how Dhinchak Pooja is also earning a lot and is famous for cringe content but we have to work everyday and still people don't recognize us as much. He then told me that fame and recognition are very different. One can get fame but very few become historic and get recognition. The latter takes time anyway. There are many shows which wouldn't have reached people but they are good.