Harsh Chhaya, Varun Badola talk about how OTT opened new creative avenues for actors like them

Chhaya, known for television shows like Hasratein and Swabhimaan and films like Fashion and Jolly LLB, said he walked away from acting between 2013 and 2019 as he didnt like the quality of work that came his way.

Actors Harsh Chhaya and Varun Badola, who have been working in the showbiz for over two decades and have successfully adapted to OTT platforms, believe the key to surviving a creative drought is patience, even if it means going without work for years. The two actors currently appear in the fourth and final season of the popular crime thriller ''Undekhi'' on SonyLIV. Chhaya, known for television shows like ''Hasratein'' and ''Swabhimaan'' and films like ''Fashion'' and ''Jolly LLB'', said he walked away from acting between 2013 and 2019 as he didn't like the quality of work that came his way. ''The problem with daily soap is that you are fighting against time. In films, I was not getting the kind of work that I wanted to do. I may have gotten some interesting parts but it wasn't moving forward the way I wanted it to. So then I stopped doing it because there is no point,'' he said. ''The last film I did was 'Jolly LLB' with Arshad Warsi, after that I stopped doing films, and the last series I did was '24'. After that, I stopped doing acting work because I was not getting to do what I wanted to,'' he told PTI in an interview. Chhaya said he didn't want to continue playing ''those (sad) roles or the US-return doctor''. He said the period of stepping back was difficult but it also turned out to be one of self-discovery. ''Sometimes, you do get into a phase where you need to figure out where is it that you want to be or want to go at a certain point of time from where you are.'' ''It had come to a point where it was like, 'I'll eat once a day if I have to but I'll not do what I don't want to do'. I've lived that way for almost 6-7 years - not that I was eating only once a day - but it certainly wasn't a luxury not to be doing the only thing that you do.'' He used those years to write and direct, making his debut with the 2018 film ''Khajoor Pe Atke''. Badola, who earned acclaim as both writer and actor on ''Apaharan'', ''Undekhi'' and ''Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen'', said he did not have the same freedom to step away but found his own path through the transition. ''I was hoping that I would get a chance to leave television and do OTT. Luckily, in the first show ('Apaharan') I was writing, and then it was decided that I would play a character in it,'' he said. The actor said the shift from television to OTT opened new creative possibilities. ''There was a benefit in that transition from TV to OTT because a new avenue opened, the way things work here brings a little satisfaction... 'Apaharan' did exceedingly well and so did 'Undekhi' and 'Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen'.'' Badola, who also received acclaim for his performance in season one of ''Kohrra'', said writing is a ''bloody difficult job''. ''They still don't pay writers well. I work with one person because of the friendship,'' he said, referring to writer-filmmaker Sidharth Sengupta. Chhaya and Badola first met on the sets of the 2002 television show ''Astitva - Ek Prem Kahani'' and it marked the beginning of a long friendship. ''We're friends because we don't get in each other's way,'' Badola said. ''Undekhi: The Final Battle'' is produced by Applause Entertainment in association with Banijay Asia and directed by Ashish R Shukla. It also stars Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Surya Sharma, Ankur Rathee, Shivjyoti Rajput and Gautam Rode.