You know what is worse than watching an unnecessarily lengthy web-shows? It is witnessing utterly brilliant actors wasted in projects due to mediocre script, miscasting or brief screen time. And we know Bollywood has been notorious for that for long, but some of the recent web-series have joined the league. Here’s a look at some of the OTT shows where actors were completely wasted:
1. Tahir Raj Bhasin in Ranjish Hi Sahi
The viewers surely noticed Tahir when he played a Delhi-based kingpin in Mardaani and the following projects kept assuring us of his acting prowess. Finally, when he landed the lead in a much-anticipated web-series, the script totally failed him. What’s the point of roping in an adept actor, if you don’t utilize his full-potential, right?
2. R Madhavan in Decoupled
The ones who have seen the show would agree that Decoupled would have done just perfectly (bad) without R Madhavan in it. And watching the incredibly talented actor as Arya Iyer was worse than realising we rooted for his stalker character in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein.
3. Rasika Dugal in A Suitable Boy
There’s no denying that aptly accommodating a huge ensemble cast, of mostly seasoned actors, even in a web-series is quite a task. However, after delivering note-worthy performances in cinematic projects like Qissa, Manto and especially Mirzapur, you don’t expect an actor such as Dugal to be relegated to a blink-and-miss role.
4. Regina Cassandra in Rocket Boys
Rocket Boys, even after being a period-drama, doesn’t leave behind the female characters while paying a tribute to the great minds of India. But we could have surely seen more of Regina Cassandra as Mrinalini Sarabhai, a pivotal character.
5. Kalki Koechlin in Sacred Games
There are a handful of actors who make us look forward to films or shows by just being a part of the cast, and Kalki is one of them. The second season of Sacred Games evoked the same emotions when the actor showed up. Initially, Batya Abelman did seem to be a vital character, but the actor was barely given any space to make a notable contribution.
6. Naseeruddin Shah in Kaun Banegi Shikharwati
We, maybe, don’t even need to explain it here. The show had a (mostly) brilliant cast with a seasoned actor such as Naseeruddin Shah headlining the project. But the actor, who has pulled off diverse genres with ease, was wasted over an amateurish storyline.
7. Parambrata Chatterjee in Aranyak
Parambrata Chatterjee, an actor who with every project proved his potential, surely got the spotlight he deserves in Aryanak. But what could have been better is a more tightly-written role for a lead character.
8. Sheeba Chaddha in Bandish Bandits
Sheeba Chadha said more with her expressions than what the writers could weave in her character. While she did complete justice to even an underdeveloped role, one can’t help but wonder what a well-written role would have looked under her talented performance.
9. Sobhita Dhulipala in Bard of Blood
Even with a few projects to her credit, Sobhita Dhulipala has made it to the list of break-through actors. And maybe that was the reason she landed Bard of Blood alongside Emraan Hashmi. However, her character was reduced to being a commentator rather than being an indispensable element.
10. The Entire Cast in Tandav
An highly-anticipated project, majorly for its splendid star-cast, definitely didn’t live up to our expectations. With actors such as Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Sunil Grover, Mohammed Zeeshan featuring in a series, one looks forward to the show emerging as one of the memorable ones. However, the drowning plot of Tandav couldn’t save itself even by clinging to cliches.
The industry is packed with talented actors who are hitting it out of the park even with brief screen-time. And with some of the top-notch shows we witnessed in the past years, OTT platforms have enough space, too. All we need is a little more appropriate casting that does justice to these actors’ craft.