Subhash Ghai believes the secret to his long innings in films lies in his ability to reinvent himself. In keeping with the changing tastes of the audience, the filmmaker has now made his debut in the OTT world with 36 Farmhouse. The ZEE5 film, helmed by Ram Ramesh Sharma, features Amol Parashar of Tripling fame, Barkha Singh and Vijay Raaz.
A still from 36 Farmhouse
“Every decade or so, there is a huge shift in the world—[be it] technology or cinema. Change is inevitable, and you have to adapt to it,” says Ghai, explaining his need to explore the digital medium. “Over the last three years, OTT has been a popular medium. I wanted to offer fresh content, but I had to understand the grammar of the new medium. I happily accepted [the new lessons] because I think about tomorrow and never connect with my past.” With OTT, psychological thrillers and hard-hitting dramas have found favour from the audience. Ghai, however, hasn’t steered away from the genre he knows best—family dramas. “People in India have been watching films for 80 years and are used to a certain kind of family entertainer. It’s a misconception that OTT is only for the youth who [watch shows with a generous dose of] sex and violence.”
Now that his latest offering has released, the director can train his focus on his next. He reveals that before the pandemic, he had developed a subject with Sanjay Dutt. “I had written a [script] titled Khalnayak Returns for Sanjay Dutt, but the pandemic brought everything to a standstill. I was to announce a few films too.”
