Undekhi 2 actor Nandish Sandhu: I have been replaced in projects due to people’s connections

Nandish Sandhu has tasted success on all the mediums — TV (with the daily soap Uttaran), films (with the 2019 Hrithik Roshan-starrer Super 30 ) and on the web with his OTT debut in Undekhi season 2. The journey though must have not been a cakewalk.

Ask the actor about showbiz, especially films where there has always been chatter about nepotism and favouritism, and he says, “It’s a mix. With OTT coming in, so many people are being able to release their content. All these new people, in departments of directing, writing… they have become fearless. Even financially, producers are ready to take more risks now.”

While the 40-year-old opines that discrimination exists in the film industry towards people coming from outside or from TV, the boom in he OTT space has changed a lot of things.

“Earlier it was a lot more. With OTT, competition has risen, people have the confidence that if we make good content and story, and put in money, we will get it back. Even if the film doesn’t release in theatres, or doesn’t do well there, or collides with a big film, they will be able to stream, or do a deal with an OTT platform to recover their money. That’s a good thing, people are ready to give a chance to new people and talent,” says Sandhu.

But what about the internal connections in the industry that are believed to help, and the practice of people getting replaced in a project due to someone’s influence?

Talking from his own experience, the actor says, “I have heard about people being replaced, I have faced it too. I have been through that experience. But I think it’s a part of every industry, Where doesn’t it exist? Whether it’s politics, films, some corporate environment, competition is everywhere. You have to be a fighter and survivor. You either crib and cry about it, or go out and fight.”