OTTs Becoming Like TV: Where’s the Risk-Taking?

For someone whose second innings was largely powered by streaming, Manoj Bajpayee’s latest comments about the OTT landscape are particularly striking.

The actor, who reinvented himself for a new generation with The Family Man, believes that streaming platforms are slowly drifting away from what made them exciting in the first place.

“I fear that OTT is going the TV way,” Manoj said in a recent interview with The Hindu.

It’s an observation that many viewers may quietly agree with.

When OTT first exploded in India, it promised something radically different. Platforms weren’t chasing the broadest possible audience. They were taking risks.

Shows could be darker, stranger, more region-specific, and more genre-driven. A spy thriller like The Family Man could blend domestic comedy with geopolitical intrigue.

Paatal Lok, Delhi Crime, Asur, and Scam 1992 all found their audiences without trying to be everything for everyone.

According to Manoj, that’s precisely what is changing. He argues that platforms have become increasingly conscious about creating “household content.”

The danger, he suggests, lies in trying too hard to cater to everyone.The moment you think like that, you are going the TV way.

The irony isn’t lost. OTT disrupted television by offering creative freedom.

Now, in the race for subscriptions, retention, and mass appeal, some platforms may be adopting the same formulas they were meant to replace.

And audiences seem to be noticing. Manoj Bajpayee believes the solution is simple: stop playing it safe.

He points to The Family Man as an example of a show that succeeded precisely because it stayed true to its identity.

Because if OTT starts looking and feeling exactly like television, viewers might begin asking an uncomfortable question:
Why pay for something that no longer feels different?

In many ways, Manoj Bajpayee isn’t criticising streaming platforms. He’s reminding them why audiences fell in love with them in the first place.