“I watch all genres and do so very objectively. If brutality and violence are a part of the narrative in the story, I don’t mind it in the least. As an actor, I don’t just consume content on its face value. I watch it with the objective of learning and understanding the craft of movie making,” he says.

On whether violence, action and crime subjects are dominating OTT and film space, he adds, “The formula of filmmaking is today based purely on quality. Content from any genre, stories of any kind and budget will shine if it’s made well. That being said, the regulations on OTT are fairly relaxed and offer more leverage to makers. That could be the reason for the more extreme portrayal of violence and sex,” he adds.

Since audiences mostly like such sensational content, it seems this trend is going to stay for some time. Reacting to the same, Harjinder says, “I think today people have become more accepting towards extreme and graphic content. That enables makers to tell stories (sometimes real ones) that involve disturbing events. Such cinema is not only more engaging but also thought-provoking. Earlier content used to be sugar-coated. Happy endings, ideal characters and perfect relationships were the norms by the audience. Viewers now are ready for the ‘slice of life’ kind of hard-hitting cinema.”