Exciting to have your work discovered by new audience: Suchitra Pillai on OTT platforms

For years people have known her as the "'Dil Chahta Hai' girl" and actor Suchitra Pillai hopes her latest Netflix series "Betaal" will help newer audiences discover her work. Suchitra has featured in films such as "Page 3", "Fashion", and "Dil Chahta Hai", where she played Priya, the girlfriend of Saif Ali Khan's character, Sameer. "It's exciting for an actor to have their work discovered by a new audience, thanks to the digital platforms. So many years later, people still say 'Oh you're the 'Dil Chahta Hai' girl!' There are certain characters which stick with you.

"I'm happy to have been a part of something like that one. But I think after this, people will turn around and say, 'Aren't you that one from 'Betaal'?' I haven't been seen in this avatar before and I'm looking forward to their reactions," Pillai told PTI in an interview. The actor, who has also done several TV shows including "Hip Hip Hurray" and "24", said the best part about featuring on a web series is its reach. "Such good work is happening around for everyone now. These platforms ensure people will step up and notice your work, which is something actors really like," she said. "Betaal", which started streaming from Sunday, chronicles the story of officials who are hired to displace tribal villagers to make way for a new highway, but end up unearthing an old curse and an army of British soldier-zombies.

The show is written and directed by Patrick Graham, who previously helmed the horror series "Ghoul" for Netflix. On this new horror series, the 49-year-old actor plays the commandant of her squad in Counter Insurgency Police Department.

Pillai said "Betaal" offered her an opportunity try out something new in her career spanning over 25 years. "I had auditioned for the part which went really well. Later, when I met Patrick, we got along like a house on fire. There was no awkwardness, it was very easy. "When I read a few more scenes after my auditions, I was blown away. I jumped at the opportunity to do the show," she said. The series also stars Viineet Kumar, Aahana Kumra, Jitendra Joshi, Jatin Goswami and Siddharth Menon. Produced by Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment, "Betaal" has Nikhil Mahajan serving as co-director, while Blumhouse Television and SK Global Entertainment are attached as executive producers.