Following In Saif Ali Khan's Footsteps, 13 Actors Who Chose To Dabble In OTT Without Any Qualms

Bhavya Sadhwani
Bhavya Sadhwani
Updated on Sep 25, 2022, 16:52 IST- 8 min read -3.5 K Shares
Indiatimes

Almost four years ago when Saif Ali Khan made his web debut with Sacred Games, many called it a brave move including the industry folks. Some even thought that it was the end of his Bollywood career for he would not get movie roles as he’ll soon be typecast as an OTT hero. Little did those people know that soon everyone would follow suit. 

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Cut to 2022 where the fate of cinemas and theaters still hangs in the balance, as people are still hesitant to make their way back to the watching movies on the big screens. Over the years, audiences have witnessed several biggies showcasing their acting prowess in webseries and web movies. Every year, more and more artists have been embracing this experimental route only to achieve humongous success in the digital world. 

Be it Bobby Deol in Ashram, Manoj Bajpayee in The Family Man, Emraan Hashmi in Bard Of Blood or Abhishek Bachchan in Breath: Into The Shadows, a bevy of actors have managed to push the envelope and emerged victorious.

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Let’s take a look at 13 celebs who are boldly dabbling with OTTs. Scroll!

1. Kangana Ranaut - Lock Upp

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The badass queen of Bollywood enthralled us with a reality series called Lock Upp in collaboration with telly queen Ekta Kapoor. The show. despite slow take off, went on to become a huge hit with 200 million plus views. It saw a bevy of celebrities participating in it and stand up comedian Munawar Faruqui finally taking home the trophy. 

2. Ajay Devgn - Rudra: The Edge Of Darkness

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An actor who has dabbled in several fields of movie making business apart from acting and known to be a risk-taker, Ajay Devgn made a digital debut with Rudra - The Edge Of Darkness along with Esha Deol. He portrayed an unusually dark and gritty role of cop way different than his previous outings as Singham.

3. Alia Bhatt - Heart Of Stone

Alia Bhatt Netflix

Alia Bhatt recently shared a glimpse of her Hollywood debut film Heart Of Stone that will be a web movie releasing on Netflix, Heart of Stone.

“Heart of Stone is going to be extremely epic. It’s a super grounded, raw action thriller. We really wanted to make sure we keep it realistic so people can feel the pain," says Gadot, who plays Rachel Stone. Alia adds, “It has these characters that you connect with and feel for.” Even though the video doesn’t reveal much about the Brahamastra actress’ character, it promises a lot of action and thrill.

  


4. Akshay Kumar - The End

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While the details of his outing has been kept under wraps, the actor in a recent interaction with Variety revealed that the series has been titled ‘The End’. He said, “It’s a high-octane action thriller and takes me back to a genre I started my career with three decades ago. Filming is due to commence in quarter one of 2022. As for the narrative, I am under such tight confidentiality with the show that even if I wanted to give you a sneak peek I wouldn’t be able to."

5. Soha Ali Khan - Hush Hush

After making a lukewarm comeback with web series Kaun Banega Shikharwati , Soha was recently seen in Amazon Prime series Hush Hush which is said to be inspired from Big Little Lies.

She plays the character of Saiba, a former journalist who is a mother of two children and has a very nice husband. She is fierce, outspoken and protective of her family. 

6. Dulquer Salmaan - Guns And Gulaabs

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The Malayalam superstar is all set to make his digital debut with a series helmed by the uber talented duo Raj And DK of The Family Man fame. This much-awaited series will also feature Rajkummar Rao and Adarsh Gourav of The White Tiger Fame. Talk about making a smashing debut! The teaser of Guns and Gulaabs was dropped recently and it has piqued the interest of audiences. Check it out:

 

7. Madhuri Dixit - The Fame Game

madhuri dixit Madhuri dixit/instagram

The dancing diva of Bollywood made a digital debut with web series The Fame Game. The plot revolved around Bollywood icon Anamika Anand played by Dixit, who has it all but there’s a big mystery - is her life perfect or a perfectly crafted pretence?

It also starred Sanjay Kapoor, Manav Kaul, Lakshvir Saran and Suhasini Muley, Muskkaan Jaferi among others. However, as per reports doing the rounds, there's a possibility that the show might not be renewed for another season as the first one couldn't muster up the numbers that it was expected to.

8. Aditya Roy Kapur - Hindi remake of The Night Manager

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While his Bollywood journey has been rocky, the crush of many will soon be seen in the Hindi remake of the Golden Globe-winning show, The Night Manager. As per reports, he will reprise the role of Tom Hiddleston in the desi adaption. For the uninitiated, this role was to be portrayed by Hrithik Roshan before Kapur stepped in.

9. Varun Dhawan - Hindi adaptation of Citadel

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Varun Dhawan is basking in the success of his film Jugjugg Jeeyo. Apart from Bollywood films that are lined up in his kitty, he will soon be seen in desi version of international show Citadel which stars our very own desi girl Priyanka Chopra in the lead role. The Hindi adaptation will be helmed by talented duo Raj and DK.

10. Naga Chaitanya - Untitled mystery series

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After making his Bollywood debut with Aamir Khan in Laal Singh Chadha, rumour has it that Naga Chaitanya is also venturing into the digital space. He will be playing the role of an eccentric journalist in a mystery series spanning over three seasons. While an official confirmation is still awaited, reports suggest that the concept of this series will revolve around time travel.

11. Shahid Kapoor - Untitled series

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Not one to make a lot of noise, Shahid Kapoor is someone who only believes in delivering the best. The news of his web debut has been floating for a while now. However, there has been no details regarding the project whatsoever. The only piece of information that is known is the fact that his debut series is being directed by Raj and DK. Now, we all know what this duo is capable of, don’t we?

12. Sonakshi Sinha - Fallen

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Sonakshi Sinha will also mark her entry into the world of the web with Fallen, a series that’ll release on Amazon Prime. She recently took to her Instagram to share a heartfelt note of thank you to her director, Reema Kagti and producer Zoya Akhtar for giving her the memorable role of Anjali Bhaati in the series.

13. Sidharth Malhotra - Indian Police Force

Screengrab/ Indian Police Force Screengrab/ Indian Police Force

Following his portrayal of Captain Vikram Batra in the film Shershaah, Sidharth Malhotra is prepared to make his online series debut with Rohit Shetty's action-packed web series, Indian Police Force, a police procedural.

(To read more such stories related to movies and shows released on OTTs, keep reading Indiatimes BINGE)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bhavya Sadhwani heads Indiatimes OTT section - Binge. She calls herself an entertainment ninja and OTT content sucker. She loves to write on web series, movies, documentaries, reality shows and everything else that releases on digital platforms. She forms a special bond with those who share her love for cringe content.

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