Zareen Khan: The star system will never go, but we are getting new stars because of OTT

Since the rise of OTT platforms during the pandemic, there has been a lot of debate around the star system going for a toss with the emergence of new talent everyday. Actor Zareen Khan’s brush with the medium happened when her film, Hum Bhi Akele Tum Bhi Akele released directly on a streaming platform.

The 34-year-old believes the fascination with stars will never go, but there will be new stars on the horizon. She says, “The best thing coming out of OTT is that we are getting new stars. In theatre, we had limited stars who we worshipped, admired and liked seeing their films. That’s the reason those people are stars. In films, it was like a cycle. With OTT, we have so many new talents being discovered, so many of them we have never heard of before. They turned stars overnight.”

There is new talent we can look forward to now, adds Khan, who might have “never” got a chance in the earlier, standard way of films releasing in theatres. “Now people who maybe do not come from a Bollywood background but are very good with their talent, should be called stars,” she says

Talking about her film which had to forego a theatrical release, Khan says the release happened around the time her mother was hospitalised.

“I was still doing promotions. It was a roller coaster of emotions, I could not really enjoy whatever reactions I got. When my mom was out f the hospital, then I tried to understand ‘okay the film has got appreciation’. I am happy the film released, I had been waiting since 2019. The subject and the character I played, I really wanted my audience to watch it. But it happened at a time when I couldn’t enjoy it much,” she concludes.