OTT's evolution is both great and scary: Tridha Choudhury returning to Bengali works with Sin-Whispers of Guilt

Q. How was your experience of working on a Bengali project after a long gap?

A. Honestly, I was waiting for a good Bengali project. I believe I grow as an actor working on a good script and collaborating with a fine director. It was nice to work on a very meaningful project on my return to Bengal.

Image by Avishek Mitra/IBNS

Q. What kind of homework did you have to do to play a journalist?

A. One trait which I had to develop was the aggression of journalists. Apart from this, I had to incorporate the basic nuances of a journalist. My attempt was to showcase my role, named Rumi, differently. It was challenging to show the two sides of Rumi, who is equally expressive and reserved.

Q. What prompted you to agree to this project?

A. I think the script. It is such that the audience will be able to relate to not just Rumi but all characters.

Tridha in Sin trailer | Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab

Q. You have been working on OTT for a long time. How do you see the evolution of the space post Covid?

A. It's fantastic as well as scary because now everyone opts for all media in India. Earlier, actors were dedicated to either films or television. It was very black and white. OTT falling into a grey area benefitted a lot of actors, who are getting opportunities but also leading to mindless consumption. Too much accessibility is lowering the importance of meaningful contents. I have been careful and conscious of it. So I had to be very patient to not opt for whatever came my way.

Photo courtesy: Facebook/Tridha Choudhury

Q. You have worked with some of the big directors, Prakash Jha, Srijit Mukherji, Kamaleswar Mukherjee. How much does the body of work of a director matter to you?

A. Actually nowadays the subject and the script matter more than who is directing it. I believe the audience is no longer interested to just book a ticket (to watch a film) for the sake of their favourite director or actor's work. Painting a rosy picture is no longer working. People have become bored of it. The audience now looks for a variety of works. So it is not important to collaborate with only big names because the younger ones are exceptional at their job!

Q. How challenging is it to overcome the tag of Aashram?

A. Yes, that's the whole point of me not agreeing to do a lot of projects that came my way right after Aashram. The audience takes some time to forget a character which they love and relate to a lot. Right now, I am doing some Hindi projects, which are very different from my previous works.

Photo courtesy: Facebook/Tridha Choudhury

Q. You have announced your marriage but also kept most of it private. How do you manage privacy in the age of social media?

A. I don't feel the need to exhibit my genuine happiness because I hold them close to my heart. If I am an influencer, I would like to influence my audience with my most authentic side. Not just my onscreen character but I do post about my wellness belief, my lifestyle and how I am giving time to my family. I want my audience to relate to me. But my exact private life is very private to me.

(Images: Tridha Choudhury Facebook/Avishek Mitra/IBNS/Screenshot grab from Sin trailer)