Jubilee and Taj actress Aditi Rao Hydari: We have all seen the power of OTT platforms now

With two back-to-back hits on OTT, Aditi Rao Hydari seems to have all the reason to celebrate her performances so far this year. While in the ZEE5 period drama series Taj: Divided by Blood, Aditi is seen in the pivotal role of Anarkali, the actress is lauded for her performance as Sumitra Kumari in director Vikramaditya Motwane widely appreciated series Jubilee, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. But did you know that Aditi was not a big fan of the digital space until recently?

Although she was previously seen in writer-director Naranipuzha Shanavas’s Malayalam romantic drama film Sufiyum Sujatayum, which released on Amazon Prime Video in 2020, and in Netflix’s 2021 anthology film Ajeeb Daastaans, the actress said that she thought her projects rather headed toward the big screen only.

Also read: Jubilee song Udankhatole: Aditi Rao Hydari and Aparshakti Khurana's track showcases the Bollywood of 'golden era'

“All of my contemporaries, even the people who are starting out now, no longer think about the medium, because we have seen the power of OTT platforms. I remember when my first Malayalam film, which was made for the theatres, eventually went to an OTT platform, because there was a lockdown. I was really upset, but then I saw the power of OTT; what happened after the film was released in the digital space. Everything went viral overnight. In Malayalam cinema, it’s not so easy for them to accept somebody from the outside. I was blown away by it and decided that I will never complain again,” Aditi told Hindustan Times. 

The actress also confessed that since then it has been a huge learning curve for her. “I have learnt a lot about OTT now. At the beginning, I used to say ‘no, no big screen only’, because there is magic on the big screen. But then, I realised that it is really the magic of making people believe your story, sitting in their hearts and staying with them,” she added.

Also read: Aditi Rao Hydari opens up about her love for period dramas

Speaking about Jubilee - in which she features alongside Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Sidhant Gupta, Wamiqa Gabbi and Ram Kapoor - Aditi said it is a story that connects with a person. “Now, whether your grandmother tells you a good story, or your mother… It is about a good story,” she explained. 

Also read: Jubilee web series review: Sidhant Gupta hits it out of the park in Vikramaditya Motwane’s beautiful ode to the golden era of Hindi films

Known for films like Yeh Saali Zindagi, Rockstar, Murder 3, Wazir and Padmaavat, Aditi is now gearing up for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s much-anticipated Netflix series, Heeramandi, alongside Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha and Sonakshi Sinha. Apart from this, Aditi will share screen space with Vijay Sethupathi and Arvind Swamy in the Kishor Pandurang Belekar-directed silent film, Gandhi Talks.