Vijayendra Kumeria feels TV is feeling the OTT heat: Shows are now dialling down the drama

Actor Vijayendra Kumeria feels the web space has put not only films but also the small screen on their toes. And this, he finds, is evident in the tweaks being made to TV shows to make them palatable to the audience moving rapidly to digital platforms.

“I think the drama quotient has decreased on TV a bit, they are dialling it down. They have also normalized scripts now. There are more subtle stories and scripts. There has been a shift of audience from TV to OTT and people are aware of that hence these changes,” shares the Aapki Nazron Ne Samjha actor.

However, the actor feels that too many changes cannot be made on the small screen. “The TV audience is still different, so for them that notch of drama is still required. You cannot expect TV show to be like completely like OTT shows. The viewership is different,” he continues, “I won’t say that there is as massive change and but yes they are on their toes and thinking about some stories that are out of box and not the usual saas bahu kitchen politics drama and they are coming into the place of real stories.”

So does that mean that the scope for actors, especially male actors on TV, which is dominated y female centric stories, are also improving?

Kumeria, 35, says he has been rather fortunate to have got meaty male roles on the small screen.

“In my case, it is nice to see that whenever there is any show which is different, the producers send that stuff to me. I made a conscious effort to choose very specific roles. Before I say yes to a project I take a proper briefing to understand that the role I have is substantial. I am very selective also with the characters that I do because on TV. I cannot say yes to anything coming my way just to be there,” he concludes.