They highlighted their pioneering role in exploring the OTT space and achieving success emphasizing the liberating aspect of streaming platforms.
Participating in a panel discussion at the 24th edition of FICCI Frames in Mumbai on Wednesday, Raj and DK, as the makers of ‘The Family Man’ and ‘Guns & Gulaabs’ are better known as, were asked if they did not become directors, which area of filmmaking would they have devoted their lives to. To subscribe please click tau.id/2iy6f and access our live channel.
The OTT world’s blockbuster filmmaker duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK have shared how they taught themselves writing, editing, sound recording, and other skills essential to their craft. They highlighted their pioneering role in exploring the OTT space and achieving success.
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Raj Nidimoru emphasised the liberating aspect of streaming platforms, noting that they don’t confine filmmakers to the traditional two-hour film format. Raj and DK were present at the FICCI event where they discussed OTT platforms and Artificial Intelligence.
Krishna DK, commonly referred to as DK, also highlighted their role in embracing the OTT format, emphasising their early adoption of releasing projects on OTT platforms. While Vikramaditya Motwane said that he is ‘anti-AI’, Raj and DK truthfully confessed that they use AI but only to create character sketches.
He said, “It was freeing because you know we were stifled up a bit. All filmmakers wanted to make something unique. The format of the future theatrical feature films is where you will require big star, internal point, where you have made an image and what will bring you the numbers, there is your show on Friday, the first show is all you will get. “
“What we felt was that we had to get superficial for people to be attracted to the theatres. There was no time given for a film to be made. Its a packaging – you see the trailer, you see the faces, you listen to the song – and then it is upto you to decide if you want to go for it or not. But on OTT, we could tell stories the way they should be told.”
“We were playing with the idea of making a series before Netflix even came to India, but we didn’t know how to go about it. We were just hoping something like an HBO would come, and then Amazon and Netflix came. We were literally one of the first people to jump onto that format and we started making movies and developing series.”
“I wouldn’t call it watching on TV, although you are watching on TV. There is an entire ecosystem of television makers, producers, audience – that’s not the audience for OTT. So now we have movie makers, movie producers, movie audiences. For us, it was relatively relieving. We felt like you can really know the world, the plot, the character, not worry about the 2 hour limit. Yes, you have to worry about whether it is 10 episodes long, but otherwise, it’s okay. “
Raj and DK made headlines last year with two of their web series’ – ‘Farzi’ and ‘Guns and Gulaabs’. They will next helm the Indian spin-off of ‘Citadel’, headlined by Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden. It features Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Sikandar Kher, Kay Kay Menon, Saqib Saleem and Emma Canning in pivotal roles.
