Web is here to stay, but theatres are irreplaceable: Sharad Kelkar  

Of late, there’s been a lot of discussion about the boom in the digital platforms for entertainment and the OTT overtaking the big screen. While the growth in the web space and consumption of content there has been immense, actor Sharad Kelkar believes that theatres would never lose their popularity.

Making a bold statement, the Tanhaji actor says, “Theatres are irreplaceable. The experience that one has while watching something on a big screen cannot be replicated. There’s a lot of difference between watching a film on your phone, TV or laptop and watching it in a cinema hall. There’s no comparison,” says Kelkar.

Other than films, Sharad has also been part of several web projects, such as Rangbaaz Phir Se, Special Ops, The Family Man, Black Widows and web-released films such as Laxmii and Darbaan (both 2020). He enjoys being part of the web space and feels that the theatre experience is something else. “Cinemas will remain because people will get bored of watching content on their phones, and obviously they would want to go to theatres. They would want to get the real big-screen experience.”

While both the mediums are very different, Kelkar feels that the audience as well as actors will continue to enjoy both the mediums. So they will coexist.

“Now, people have already started going back to cinemas. And perhaps big films like ’83 and Sooryavanshi will see the numbers go up, of course if the Covid-19 situation in the country gets better. But there is a parallel world called the OTT, which is here to stay. There’s a lot is difference between web content and that in films. So both the mediums will survive and that will only lead to a great future of the entertainment industry,” says the actor.