Akshay Oberoi unfazed by labels like OTT actor: I don’t care much but we need to get rid of them

In the recent times, actor Akshay Oberoi has done work predominantly on the digital space. With projects such as It’s Not That Simple , Selection Day, The Test Case, Flesh, Illegal and Inside Edge under his belt, the actor says there exists in him no fear of being labelled.

He tells us, “I don’t care about being labelled, who cares about that? When people ask that I am only doing OTT I don’t know if that means. In fact, we need to get rid of labels. It (labelling actors) is so exhausting and such a waste of time. It holds people back. Even an actor working mostly on the TV, shouldn’t be labelled as one. You are just doing work as an actor. I don’t have any fear.”

And it is this fearlessness that has led him made some rather interesting and bold choice in terms of his projects on OTT.

“In the past year alone, I have played a lawyer, a cricketer, a closeted person and a romantic guy from 1980s. If I was afraid, I wouldn’t have done half the work I have done. I would never have played Taj in Flesh ,which is a role of a bisexual person who is a drug and addict sex trade owner. I have been playing such variety of roles that people can’t label me,” he asserts.

Though his work is mostly for the web, the 37-year-old feels that as an actor, one can simultaneously explore OTT and big screen projects, something that he is also doing. Two of his releases this year are set to hit theatres.

“One can do both. One can transition between web and films (now) and it has become a lot easier than (it was) in the past. I really hope that people get rid of this sort of thing. In the West people do films, TV and digital work… the biggest of actors are doing work all over. I have never been shy of this. It has not bogged me down have I had sleepless nights thinking about it. I just don’t care what medium it is in,” he ends.