OTTplay Exclusive! Shiv Jyoti Rajput: I would like to star opposite Kartik Aaryan and Pratik Gandhi

Shiv Jyoti Rajput is a budding actress, who debuted in acting from the ALTBalaji’s romance drama show Bebaakee opposite Kushal Tondon. The talented actress is back with a highly anticipated web series Special Ops 1.5, where she can be seen romancing Kay Kay Menon.

In a recent chat with OTT play the actress revealed her passion for acting and her experience working with the cast of Special Ops 1.5. Shiv Jyoti also shared that she wishes to work with Kartik Aaryan and Pratik Gandhi in future.

How did you land the project? What intrigued you the most about your character in the show?

I was not aware of the project, I was not even aware of my character. As an artist, you are always hungry and want to deliver something new. If you see Bebaakee, you must have seen that my character is fearless and full of life. While my character in Special Ops is totally different from the former. She is from a middle-class household and like every person of a middle-class family she also has to do a lot of sacrifices. 

The middle-class people live in a box. They are trained to live under many restrictions. My character is also bound up with a lot of situations and circumstances. And how she does what she does and why is what you’ll get to see on the show.

While doing the auditions, I didn’t even know that it’s for Special Ops. For me every audition and project is important and I would like to explore everything.

First Bebaakee and then Special Ops, which is an action thriller, would you say that you’re consciously trying different things at this point of time in your career?

When I said yes to the project, I didn’t even know that it was for Special Ops. I had to research a lot about the series. I didn’t even know that I would be opposite Kay Kay Menon and this show was a total surprise package for me. 

When I got to know that it has Kay Kay Menon, Vinay Pathak and a director like Neeraj Pandey, who gave such nice movies to Indian cinema, how could being a new person, being the new bee in the town say no? I wanted to explore my chances and get to learn a lot from the people like them. They are legends. Legends of theatres. You see your senior performing and doing something you want to learn that and improve yourself and that's when you want to like yes I want to be like this person tomorrow, I want to have this skill tomorrow. It's a stage for everyone, it is on you what do you want to pick from that.

So, we have learnt that you’ve studied Foreign Trade and management then how this sudden change of career or is acting something that you always wanted to pursue?

So my mother always says that when you are a child, you are full of dreams and desires. As you grow up, in your 20s or in your early 30s, it is more about choices that you make in your life and the rest of the life after your 40s would be the result of what you have done with your choices. So, when I was a kid I wanted to be a scientist I wanted to be a doctor I want to be an actor for sure because I have seen Madhuri (Dixit) Ji, Sridevi Ji and always liked to enact their characters from their films.

When I completed my studies, I tried my hands in corporate jobs but it was not for me.

Right now we have massive action-thriller content on the OTT platforms, what do you think will make Special ops 1.5 stand out in the crowd?

First of all the selection of the actors. Not many people know but Adil (Khan) has done really well in his last film. And having Aftaab Sir back on the screen after a while is great. Another great actor is Gautami Ma’am, she looks so fit and beautiful. And obviously Kay Kay (Menon) Sir and Vinay (Pathak) Sir as well.

What do you think about the sudden burst of content that is available across OTT platforms? What does it mean for aspiring actors?

A lot. Because when you’re having only platforms like cinema theatres, the chances are limited. Theatres do make very limited films with very limited artists. And a lot of actors do not get a chance to demonstrate their skills, acting performance and a lot of actors have a fire in them but do not have a platform to showcase that. But due to OTTs, apart from actors, there are a lot of writers, directors, songwriters, singers, who are getting exposure for their work. I think the whole industry is going to rise in a certain way because of the exposure they are getting due to OTT platforms.

Which Bollywood actor from the current generation you would love to star opposite?

Kartik Aaryan. I have heard great things about him in media as well as from other people with whom I’ve worked so far. The reason is, I’m that artist who likes to learn from other artists and it would be great for me if someone is of my age is standing there and delivering something different which I get to learn so that my performance can get uplifted. And then I would also like to work with Pratik Gandhi.

Now with theatres opening up even in Maharashtra, do you believe that people will still consume OTT the way they did during the pandemic period?

So, when I used to work in the advertising company, every day I used to travel from Delhi to Gurgaon, which used to take more than an hour. So, I used to watch movies on someone else’s phones on the metro. So, consuming content on OTT platforms is people’s everyday life. Even if you’re travelling somewhere far, you do watch movies or series on your phone via digital streamers.

What’s your take on the censorship on the OTT platforms?

As I said, there is a gadget in front of you and you can watch it everywhere, but I think that’s a kind of a challenge for parents. A lot of children and teenagers are getting exploited because of some of the content. So I think the media and entertainment industry needs to be responsible for what they are making and showing it to the world. And I think OTT censorship is hugely important.