Sharad Kelkar has worked across television, films, and digital platforms, but he admits his journey has been far from smooth. “My journey has not been a bed of roses. It has come with its own set of challenges. Having worked for nearly two decades now, I have managed to carve a niche for myself,” the 48-year-old actor shared, looking back at his growth in the industry.
After nearly eight years away from television, Kelkar returned to the medium with a fresh perspective. Yet, it is OTT that he believes has truly redefined his career. “I’ve been lucky with the roles I’ve received on OTT. While people have their way of looking at the growth of OTT, for me it’s been a gradual rise. I know what I am comfortable doing. If something doesn’t align with who I am, I won’t do it, no matter how big the platform,” he explained.
Coming from a small town like Burhanpur, Kelkar finds OTT liberating because it allows him to take risks and explore characters that may never have made it to the big screen. With acclaimed projects like Shrikanth (2024), Doctors (2024), and
The Family Man, he feels the platform has given actors the scope to experiment with layered storytelling. “The beauty of OTT is that it allows you to take risks, and audiences are more open to unconventional storytelling,” he said.
But he is quick to point out the flip side. “OTT is not without its own pressures.
There’s so much content that actors can get lost. Sometimes saying no is as important as saying yes,” he noted. For Kelkar, every phase whether success, failure, television, films, or OTT has been a learning curve. “That’s what keeps me going,” he concluded.