Trend of dumbing down audience is tiring, says Radhika Apte

Actor Radhika Apte on Monday said she doesn't believe in slotting projects on the basis of platforms as the audience today is smart enough to watch good content, irrespective of its availability online or in theatres.

Apte has built a successful career with acclaimed films like "Badlapur", "Parched", the National Aard-winning "Andhadhun" and seamlessly took to the digital medium with web series like "Sacred Games" and "Ghoul".

Since then, the actor has had her films release on streaming platforms -- "Raat Akeli Hai", "Lust Stories" -- as well as in cinema halls, such as "Baazaar". During the virtual launch of her upcoming web series "Ok Computer", when Apte was asked if a science fiction show -- like her latest -- was best suited for OTT (over-the-top) platforms, the actor said the audience is only interested in good storytelling.

"If something is entertaining, it is good for anything. If content is long, like a series, it is difficult to watch it in a theatre. Those are better suited for OTT... But I don't know content wise if there's anything like 'this subject suits OTT'. "We have a particular audience that goes to theatres a lot.

So for them it's probably different. I am a bit tired of (the trend of) dumbing the audience down. If it's entertaining and good, people will watch it," the 35-year-old actor said.

"Ok Computer" is a six-episode show which envisions a near future where, for the first time, the Homo-Sapiens meet the Robo-Sapiens. Created and directed by Pooja Shetty and Neil Pagedar, the series also stars Jackie Shroff, Vijay Varma, Kani Kusruti and Rasika Dugal.

Set in 2031 Goa, "Ok Computer" follows cyber cell agent Hari Kundu (Varma) investigating the killing of a pedestrian by a self-driven car.

During his probe, Hari comes to the conclusion that the accident was actually a premeditated murder and his hunch is constantly challenged by Apte's Lakshmi, who leads a private organisation for the ethical treatment of robots and believes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is incapable of harming humans.

The show uses humour to launch into the messaging of the probability of AI going rogue and Varma said "Ok Computer" benefits from sharp writing. "This is one of those projects which will be a deciding factor going forward because I feel like I want to do more comedies as I got introduced to comedy with such a great team and a script. The character was quite a challenge too," the "Gully Boy" star said.

Director Pagedar said the cast, though seasoned in dramatic roles, quickly embraced the wild world of "Ok Computer". "This is a comedy show, full of pitfalls. We have done everything, from sophisticated, sharp material to physical comedy where people have fallen. We have just fallen shy of having a banana peel on set. We have done an entire gamut of comedy.

"For all these actors to handle that with maturity was extremely reassuring. Vijay, Radhika, Jackie are dramatic actors, we have seen them do serious roles, but they have brought a levity to the show which we didn't think was possible," he said. "Ok Computer" is set to start streaming on Disney+ Hotstar VIP from March 26.