Mumbai, 3 May 

Actor Vikrant Massey says it is important for performers to stay on their toes and adapt to the rapidly changing demands of viewers in the ever-evolving world of entertainment.

Massey said he feels fortunate to have worked across all platforms, from television, films, to OTT. Over the years, they have all evolved, but the desire for entertainment remains constant, he added.

“A lot has changed now. The way we tell stories today and the way they are also consumed by the audiences. I started 21 years ago on Doordarshan, and today, the consumption patterns have changed. The way we tell stories has changed, and it is a process which will keep evolving as we move forward,” the actor said.

“Today, most of us, are consuming entertainment on our mobile phones. One thing that has remained constant is our appetite for entertainment,” he added.

The 38-year-old actor was speaking at a session, titled ‘The Changing Face of Indian Cinema’, on day two of the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) here.

The '12th Fail' actor also noted that Hollywood films have made a strong impact on Indian audiences. He said that even people from humble backgrounds are well acquainted with blockbuster movies such as 'The Avengers.'

"I know it for a fact that most of my staff have seen ‘Avengers’ and most of the Hollywood films dubbed in their local language, and they can sort of enjoy their form of entertainment.

"So, what that does for an actor like me now is to sit back and understand that I need to pull my socks up as an actor because today a guy from Sitamarhi, Bihar, or Kathmandu, Nepal, is watching global cinema inside a small room on his phone with his headphones plugged on,” the actor added.

Massey said one has to adapt and move with the changing times.

“Our appetite for entertainment remains constant, but we also need to adapt with different formats coming in, different forms of storytelling are coming in. So, from where I see it a lot has changed, but a lot more is yet to change. So, we need to adopt and adapt to moving times,” he added.

The session was also attended by 'Ponniyin Selvan' star Ravi Mohan, Sonali Kulkarni, and director Om Raut of 'Adipurush' and 'Tanhaji' fame.

Mohan expressed his disappointment over the perception that the cinema experience has shifted entirely to smaller screens.

He gave the example of an acclaimed Malayalam movie, 'Manjummel Boys,' and one of his recent films, 'Ponniyin Selvan,' and said both the movies were meant to be watched on the big screen.

'Ponniyin Selvan’ is a tale that all Tamil people were waiting to see on the big screen. It started with MGR, and Sivaji Ganesan, then it transformed to Vijay and Mahesh Babu (reportedly Mani Ratnam’s choice for the film), then somehow it came to us, me and Karthi and Vikram sir.

"This was the tale we were waiting to hear. Even if you give us Rs.100 million, we will not watch it on the small screen or the phone. It made nearly Rs.600 crores, and it would not have happened if people wanted to watch it on the small screen,” the Tamil movie star said.

Mohan said that “big screen experience will not fade away” anytime.

“So, we should avoid the blame of saying that cinema has come to the small screen or on the phone. For learning, you can shoot the movie, edit the movie, do the recording, and release it on YouTube from your phone, it is all great,” he said.

"I don’t think the future is going to be like that, I wish it won’t become like that. The big screen will always be part of our hearts for movies,” Mohan said, adding that the small screen, like TV and OTT, is used for the long run of the movie.