Ayush Mehra: Wasn’t taken seriously as I had done sketches

They are a match made in the OTT world When Ayush Mehra and Barkha Singh teamed up for some web sketches their chemistry was for all to see The actors eventually headlined Dice Mediarsquos miniseries Please Find Attached on Amazon mini TV As the third season drops online the duo talk about how their friendship has evolved along with the show and the joy of being a web star amid the OTT boomEdited excerpts from the interviewThe third season of Please Find Attached PFA is out How has the journey beenAyush Our friendship has evolved along with the show It has been five years since we have been doing Please Find Attached Before this we did a few sketches together Since we have known each other for eight years there is a sense of comfort and friendship that effortlessly translates on screenAlso Read Case Toh Banta Hai Vicky Kaushal says he is son of an action directorTell us one thing you cannot tolerate about each otherBarkha It is difficult to pick one laughs It has got to be something about food Ayush claims to be on a diet at all times but first finishes his own meal and then eats everyone elsersquos He polishes off his plate in under 30 secondsA Barkha gets hangry hungry and angry when she doesnrsquot get food Both of us love food and if we donrsquot eat enough or get it on time we get a little ticked offWhile PFA is an easy breezy show was any part of the show challengingB Sometimes communicating the simplest things can be complicated Great care needs to be taken in how we are approaching everyday topics and doing justice to our characters Sometimes unconsciously you may end up communicating something that might not be what you intended to So you have to keep such things in mindBefore the OTT boom do you think that the industry didnrsquot take web stars seriouslyB I think everything has a process to it You need to go from A to B to C they are the stepping stones to your goal I donrsquot think being taken seriously as an actor has much to do with the medium But the sketches helped me build a fanbase which eventually helps in landing bigger rolesA People did not take me seriously because I had done a lot of sketches They paid me the money I needed at that point in time to sustain myself Sketches also gave me a lot of exposure which brought a lot of fan following and love If we had missed that step the subsequent steps might have derailedNow that everyone is experimenting with digital content do you feel Bollywood stars have encroached this spaceA They are far more experienced and with them the platform only gets bigger Everyone has carved their own place in the web space There are so many shows If you are not part of one show itrsquos only a matter of time before you get another As a collective we need to evolve and showcase better stories that people want to watch Nobody thought that Pratik Gandhi of Scam 1992 The Harshad Mehta Story fame would become a star overnight It gives you hopeAlso Read Amazon miniTV announces the third season of lsquoPlease Find AttachedrsquoB Stars joining the digital bandwagon has its upsides and downsides The upside is that they come with their own set of audience Once the audience watches their show they might watch other shows too So that gives us a wider audience to tap into The downside is that certain producers would like to go with a celebrity to grab eyeballs That said the pros definitely outweigh the cons The field is large enough to incorporate everyoneWhat is next for youB After PFA I am excited about Majja Ma that will drop on Amazon Prime Video This film is closest to my heart because I got to dance alongside Madhuri DixitNene It also has Gajraj Rao with whom I had worked when he first turned directorA I have Kaccha Limbu which is directed by Shubham Yogi and also stars Radhika Madan and Raj Barmecha It is about gully cricketPlay Quiz Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhattstarrer Brahmastra