JD Chakravarthy opens up on Dayaa, stardom on OTT and why Bollywood will always be dear to him

It’s hard to pin down JD Chakravarthy to one industry - he has ‘been there, done that’ as an actor, director and producer across multiple languages. After nearly three and half decades into cinema, Dayaa marks a new beginning for the actor. The show, to stream on Disney+ Hotstar, directed by Senapathi, Prema Ishq Kaadhal fame Pavan Sadineni, has him foraying into the OTT space in Telugu.

In media interaction today, the actor called the script the star of show, hailed the director and said it boasts strong characters, technical finesse and gripping screenplay. He’s cast as a driver who transports fish from Kakinada port and lands in a soup when he finds a dead body in his vehicle one day. The plot revolves around how he deals with the tricky scenario and emerge unscathed.

As part of the chat, the actor made interesting observations about his career in Telugu cinema and why he distanced himself from the industry for a few years. “Bollywood is like a second home to me. I wanted to try my hand there for a few years and return to Telugu. I know the Telugu industry is my strength. It’s all about demand and supply. I won’t say I’m being flooded with offers but I am not taking up projects that I don’t resonate with.”

Discussing how the metrics of stardom vary between cinema and OTT, the actor-producer shares, “It’s wrong to state stardom doesn’t exist on OTT. If collections give us an estimate of a film’s performance at the box office, the credibility of an OTT show is decided by the viewership. Web shows give us a chance to tell a story expansively and uncover many dimensions.”

“Web shows don’t differentiate between big, small, young or experienced. It’s open to talent sans barriers. However, for theatres, buyers take up a film only if it has known faces. OTT definitely has an advantage over cinema in this aspect. Even if JD Chakravarthy isn’t a known actor, audiences wouldn’t mind watching Dayaa,” he added.