Bollywood actress Isha Koppikar, who has just made an entry in a new OTT app’s web series, Lovely Da Dhaba, bats for some kind of check and balance on digital content, just as there is on films.
“Agreed, while the web industry wants self-censorship, there needs to be some kind of certification, either adult, children or parental guidance.”
“However modern we may claim to be, at the end of the day, we Indians have our own culture and family values, which need to be respected. You can’t blindly ape some other country.”
“Having said that, it eventually boils down to parents preventing their kids from watching shows that are full of s*x and profanities. But here you need to be smart, for today kids are made up of different stuff, who will end up going for the forbidden fruit. The challenge is to maintain our moorings while going global.”
“So you need to make sure that you don’t watch such type of shows in front of your kids. In the case of my five year old, she likes to watch Netflix horror, while certain other genres disinterest her and she walks off.”
Talking about Lovely Da Dhaba, she says, “I loved Lovely’s character. She is a very dignified and helpful lady, who goes out of her way to bail out her patrons. This is a far cry from today’s time, where most can’t get out of their own lives. She is what you can call a female Munnabhai.”
When asked about the Punjabi lehza that the character carries, she says, “I have always been in close contact with the North Indian culture, as my best friend is a Punju. And yes, I have married into a family of the same cast.”
“One of the main reasons for saying yes to Lovely Da Dhaba was that Lovely is unlike the dabbang women (Don : The Chase Begins Again) that I have mostly played over the years.”
Talking about OTT per se, she says, “This great medium allows you the liberty to watch what you want, when you want. You are not required to troop into a theater to check out your fav film. Also, its reach is wider, touching areas not yet serviced by film screens.”
“Last but not the least, it is providing employment to several people.”
Looking ahead, she is open to more juicy web projects. “For me, more than the medium, what really counts is the story and what I am doing in it.”
