Sanjay Dutt: Commendable how industry has bounced back despite the numerous challenges

The Hindi film industry has plagued by delays and losses in the past two years owing to the pandemic with the back on forth of release dates. Post a slight setback due to rising number of Covid cases recently, Bollywood is getting back on its feet once again, and Sanjay Dutt commends this resilience of the film industry.

Sharing his thoughts on the changes that have happened in the film industry owing to the pandemic, Dutt says, “Film shoots during this challenging time have changed so much from what they used to be. A buzzing set with tons of people has now become disciplined, coordinated, careful and respectful of all the COVID conditions and precautions.”

But the actor is quick to add “It’s actually very commendable how the industry has bounced back and found a way to get back on its feet despite the numerous challenges.”

That said, the 62-year-old also acknowledges the audience’s hunger for great content which has increased because of being exposed to the versatility on the OTT platform. Dutt, who had OTT release like Sadak 2, Torbaaz and Bhuj: The Pride of India, feels that it’s a time for evolving, reinventing and moving with the times.

“I think the OTT platform is an undeniable force to reckon with. While the West had embraced it much sooner, India saw a massive boom in the last 2 years and especially during the pandemic and in many ways, it was the go-to platform for entertainment during COVID,” he continues, “It’s part of natural evolution as technology gets more advanced so do avenues for entertainment. It also allows people from all over the world to access Indian cinema and vice versa. It also encourages creativity because as a platform it encourages creativity, novelty and cutting-edge content. I’m grateful my films were released on the OTT platform during the pandemic because my aim has always been to entertain audiences and I’m glad I had the opportunity to do that in some capacity.

With three big projects lined up for release this year —Shamshera, KGF2 and Prithiviraj, Dutt also recently also signed a comedy film with Suniel Shetty.

“I’ve grown up in the movie business and personally in my career have chosen to experiment and play every character to the best of my ability. At this stage, what really excites me are interesting and intriguing roles and great stories that I would enjoy watching as an audience myself,” he ends.