Shahbaz Khan: OTT Saved The Day During Lockdown For Many In The Entertainment Sector (Exclusive)

Veteran actor Shahbaz Khan is looking forward to his new over the top or OTT series, Game of the Sexes on EORTV. The actor revealed to Filmibeat, "As the title suggests, our story is based on mixed-gender (men, women and even the third gender) cricket. The LGBTQ movement has also already got a fill up in the west. We need to promote the same back home as well."

"The lead actor Rumana Molla approaches my fired alcoholic coach character with the idea of a mixed-gender cricket league. First, he scoffs at her but later jumps on board, seeing her passion for the same. Getting men and women in the same squad also has its fair share of problems, especially romance, and our story will also showcase those issues. The 14-episode series starts streaming on November 18," he added.

The huge cast of the show includes Sneha Wagh, Vindhya Tiwari, Riya Deepsi, Ishani Sharma, Piyush Ranade, Shobhit Attray and Zeeshan Khan, among others.

Shahbaz, who has been around for donkeys years doing both TV and films (began his journey as a lead in the movie Nachnewala Gaanewale back in 1991), is very thankful for the new OTT medium, "which kept many house kitchens burning during the lockdown".

When pointed out that the bold digital stuff keeps the family viewers away, he said, "EORTV is changing the ball game by offering two edits, one for family viewing and the other for individual (with kissing, etc.) preferences."

Shahbaz is not very happy with the current level of quality of small-screen content. He said, "Budget issues don't allow plots to go beyond the house. Also, daily telecast deters writers from coming up with exciting plots. No wonder you stretch innate things."

"Another major factor is that contemporary producers think with their brains. Back then, big makers like Ramesh Sippy, Sanjay Khan (The Great Maratha and Sword of Tipu Sultan, etc.) and Nirja Guleri (Chandrakanta) made content with their heart. No wonder, we still remember their works even today," Shahbaz added.

The actor further added, "Historicals and mythologicals such as Dastaan-E-Mohabbat, Salim Anarkali, Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush and Bharat Ka Veer Putra - Maharana Pratap, etc. have kept me busy in the saas-bahu era of TV. Although I have done a few family dramas, my characters always have meat, like Narendranath Chauhan in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai."

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When asked about the new crop of actors, he said, "Just like the society, they too are in a mad rush to arrive. We, on the other hand, back then, were just happy with the journey - doing films such as Jai Vikranta, Ziddi and Agent Vinod.

Looking ahead, he has one more web series up again on EORTV. The actor concluded by saying, "I am also planning to return to the big screen (his last film was Risknamaa in 2019). The success of Akshay Kumar's Sooryavanshi has abated fears of the end of big-ticket cinema in the pandemic."