Peace At Last

SUMAN SHARMA IN CONVERSATION WITH VIVEK OBEROI, WHO’S HIT GOLD WITH THE NEW WEB SERIES INSIDE EDGE

- Suman Sharma

Vivek Oberoi seems to be a man of many mediums. After impressing on the big screen, he has now found success on the digital platform with the web series Inside Edge, a collaboration between Excel Entertainment and Amazon. Initially, when producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar approached him with the concept, he wasn’t quite thrilled. During the course of the conversation what took him by surprise was the budget, which was ‘three times’ that of a film. That caught his attention. Vivek plays a powerful businessman in Inside Edge. The series, created by Karan Anshuman, is an inside look at the game of politics, where sex, money and power are mere means to an end. It also features Tanuj Virwani, Richa Chadha and Angad Bedi. Inside Edge released in 196 countries. The international release gave Vivek a global platform and the hosannas poured in from everywhere.

He reveals the smaller format of entertainment offers bigger challenges. According to him, when you work in a film, you have to take care of your character for 120 to 140 minutes. While here you have to take care of your character for 400 minutes. “We shot extensively for 10 episodes, I had to be in character for an extended length of time.” He reveals that season 2 of Inside Edge is in the offing. He highlights the fact that platforms like Amazon, Netflix and even YouTube have made entertainment exhibition a breeze. He explains, “Today, more than two crore Indians watch movies in theatres. But a staggering 40 crore Indians consume movies and shows on Smartphones. That’s a massive audience. The best part is you don’t have to deal with the Censor Board, exhibitors and distributors to showcase your product on mobiles.”