Web as a medium has become quite exciting and attractive for Bollywood. From creating content to acting, several Bollywood personalities are experimenting with the medium. Web series is one such genre, which is drawing a lot of names like Sumeet Vyas, Rana Daggubati, R Madhavan, Vivek Oberoi, Richa Chadha, Amit Sadh, to name a few, and the segment is getting bigger and bigger. Big production houses like Red Chillies, Excel Entertainment and AltBalaji and streaming sites like Amazon Prime and Netflix are also roping in big celebrities. This year, viewers not only can look forward to some exciting content but also some talented actors who will be making their digital debut. Here are a few known faces:
Pankaj Tripathi
The National Award-winning actor is currently busy with three back-to-back films in three different languages. He starred alongside Ammy Virk in Harjeeta, Sanjay Mishra in Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain and Rajinikanth in Kaala. In fact, after a successful stint last year, the actor has been offered close to 30 scripts. Apart from films, Pankaj Tripathi is also busy shooting for the Indian adaptation of BAFTA winner BBC UK crime drama Criminal Justice. It stars Jackie Shroff and Vikrant Massey as well. Critically acclaimed filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia is directing the series and Shridhar Raghavan has adapted the story. The actor will also be seen in another web series — Mirzapur.
Arunoday Singh
The actor, who was praised for his role opposite Irrfan Khan in Blackmail, is currently busy shooting for the new Alt Balaji series, Apharan. Arunoday Singh plays a cop-turned-criminal in the web series and has been seen shooting in the bylanes of Rishikesh. It also stars Nidhi Singh and is being directed by Siddhartha Sengupta.
The actor said, “I’m very, very excited about Apharan. It appealed to me the second I met Siddharth Sengupta and he told me this story with so much passion and skill. I had to be a part of it. I’ve got very fond memories of Balaji from my Main Tera Hero days. It’ll be a pleasure working with them again, or rather with their digital platform.”
Saif Ali Khan
The trailer of Netflix Original Series Sacred Games, starring Saif Ali Khan, was out on Wednesday (June 6) evening. It got a tremendous response which goes on to show that the audience has liked the content. Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, it is based on the thriller novel by Vikram Chandra. It also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte and Neeraj Kabi. The show is set to release anytime soon. Saif has been doing some very interesting roles lately, like his last film Kaalakandi, which was applauded because it was very different from what the actor had done before. So yes, the viewers can get curious.
Anil Kapoor
The actor-producer, who is gearing up for the release of his next Bollywood film Race 3, is set to portray the character of Vikram Danesh, the head of a distant planet called Oasis, in the web series titled The Book of Strange New Things. Produced by Amazon Prime Video, the show is based on Dutch writer Michael Faber’s cult novel by the same name. The sci-fi drama will trace the setting up of a new colony in space, Oasis, where Anil plays the role of the head of the settlement.
The series is going to be directed by Kevin MacDonald (The Last King Of Scotland) and will have Game of Thrones star Richard Madden. The series is being penned by Matt Charman whose writing credits include Bridge of Spies.
Vir Das
After making his name globally in the comedy space, the actor recently signed two stand-up specials for Netflix and ABC’s crime drama Whiskey Cavaliers. He will soon make his web series debut with Nikkhil Advani’s upcoming 10-part Netflix series titled Hasmukh. The actor will co-write the dark comedy with Nikkhil, which will be produced by Sameer Nair-headed Applause Entertainment.
Kalki Koechlin
The talented actor, who recently completed shooting for Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in lead roles, will be making her web series debut with Smoke, starring Neil Bhoopalam, Mandira Bedi and Jim Sarbh. Based on the Goan mafia and politics, it will see Kalki playing the role of a Portuguese-Goan DJ.
