Vishal Vashishtha: Focusing on OTT has been fruitful

Vishal Vashishtha

He comes across as a shy and introverted person, but focus the camera on him and Vishal Vashishtha can surprise you with his with his uninhibited performance. Over the past year, he has gone missing from the small screen and is concentrating on digital entertainment and movies. The shift of attention doesn't surprise us because the actor is made for bigger things. After his last OTT release Ghar Waapsi, Vashishtha is back with another series, Hustlers: Jugaad Ka Khel. In conversation with mid-day, he talks about his latest Amazon miniTV show, working with director Harsh Dedhia and more.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

After being under the radar for a year, you forayed into OTT with Ghar Waapsi. Has the shift to OTT benefited you?
Ghar Waapsi did wonders for me. After seeing the show, creators started noticing me, and that is how I got my first film. Then I got a big web series and a short film. Over the past one year, I was shooting these projects and now, they are all coming out one after the other. So, the wait has been long, but focusing on OTT has been fruitful.

While most actors aren't restricted to one medium, have you decided to concentrate only on streaming?
As of now, [I am concentrating on] OTT and films. TV launched me and that will be close to my heart forever. However, I've done whatever I could do on television. I've [outgrown] the kind of roles I was getting. In the future, if something completely out of the world comes my way, I would love to give it a shot.

Had you seen any of director Harsh Dedhia's work before?
I liked Broken but Beautiful. A friend had recommended the show to me and said Vikrant Massey starred in it. He told me that this is the kind of show I should be doing. I came to know that Harsh directed the series when we were shooting for Hustlers. He has also directed Never Kiss Your Best Friend, but I am yet to see it.

How was it to work with Dedhia?
Although I knew the projects he had done, I did not have any preconceived [notion or] expectation from him. His patience is remarkable. The best part about him is that for any complicated scene, he simplifies it and makes you understand. Instead of going through all the philosophies of life and making it more complicated, he simplifies the [core] of the scene. Then it becomes easy for actors to deliver the scene.

Do you feel burdened when a show rests on your shoulders?
I haven't felt burdened. The only burden I feel while shooting is that I have to deliver. Right now, before the show's release, I have butterflies in my stomach. But [gauging] success and failure is easier said than done. The feeling of being a part of something much bigger than yourself is great. On Hustlers, we are a close knit [cast and crew]. We are grateful to have come together and made something good; we worked hard on this for the past two to three months. If it fails, we will discuss what went wrong, but the burden of success is never on one person.

What is your philosophy to success?
The philosophy keeps changing as and when success comes to you. When I started out in television, [success] was about keeping myself busy and earning money to sustain myself and my family. But your want becomes something else [when your work becomes] your passion. When I shifted to OTT and films, doing good content became [my priority]. It took me a good one year to finally find a project and start shooting it. Now, success to me is to do good projects and have a great lifestyle, which is sustainable in the long run.

What's next?
I have two projects [slated] to release, Showtime and a film called The Diplomat. I'm starting another project in March, which is another biggie in my life.