Rajesh Tailang has been a part of the industry for over 30 years. While he kept doing smaller parts in films over the years, it was the web medium that brought him the opportunity to come to the forefront with shows like Mirzapur and Delhi Crime. The actor got recognition for his work on OTT and recently, he appeared in a lead role opposite actor Sheeba Chadha in the web show Bakaiti.
The show depicted the story of the day-to-day life of a small-town family. In recent times, small-town stories have found much success on the web, and Rajesh Tailang has been a part of some of them. Ask him the reason behind it and he says, “Up until a few years ago, OTT was used for solo-viewing. People would watch it alone, so the content would also be catering to that. But since the advent of Smart TV, OTT has also turned into a family-viewing experience. Thus, maybe because of that, such content is also being made which is connecting to the audience at large. Technology and content simultaneously evolved as per one another.”
The respect that character actors got due to OTT has trickled down to the film industry as well. Rajesh shares, “The impact shows in films too, which wasn’t there earlier. It’s films like Badhaai Ho (2018) and Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017) that changed the perspective. If we see the roles of mother-father in them, it wasn’t their identity but their relationship with the protagonist. So, woh roles rishte se badhke kuch bane in kahaaniyon ke chalte. Ab woh sirf maa ya baap nahi, unke khud ke characters hain.”
Having waited for this recognition for decades, did he become skeptical ever in between? “The first work I did right after coming out of the National School of Drama was the daily soap Shanti- Ek Ghar Ki Kahani. I did it for three years and it became successful. I got a bit of fame because of that and people would recognise me on the streets, take my autograph. So, I tasted that a bit, but then it went away. TV is like a newspaper, it becomes old after a day, while film is like a novel, which you keep safe at home. So, I experienced it first hand quite early on what it feels like when fame comes and goes, and I learnt how to not take it seriously,” he ends.
