MUMBAI: Filmmaker Rohit Shetty, who is making his foray on OTT with his show "Indian Police Force", Friday said he has not compromised on making big budget action-packed shows for this platform.
Headlined by Siddharth Malhotra, the show is billed as a homage to the "relentless commitment of Indian police officers". It also features Shilpa Shetty and Vivek Oberoi in the lead.
"This has everything that a Rohit Shetty film should have but it's on OTT. But it's big and thanks to Aparna (Purohit, Prime Video), she had that vision when she had come to me long ago. She had to wait for five years. I was making 'Golmaal Again' that time," he said.
"It's a big budget show. First, I was like we are doing a web-series, my scale is always big, action is always big, and she was like you make the series as you make a film, and she kept up to her promise," the filmmaker, known for directing tentpole action films such as the "Singham" franchise "Simmba" and "Sooryavanshi", told reporters here at the press conference of "Indian Police Force".
He thanked writers Sandeep Saket, Anusha Nandakumar and co-director Sushwanth Prakash and the creative team for putting up a "grand show" like this together.
"They are the main heroes, if they are not there, we cannot do the show. It is not easy to pull off seven episodes, it is like making four films," he added.
Shetty said he was thrilled to explore the OTT medium and added that he doesn't believe it's a small-medium.
ALSO READ | Trailer of Rohit Shetty’s 'Indian Police Force' out
"It's a new platform. I do television as well, I don't think any medium is big or small, what is important is your hard work and respect for every medium. I've done films, ads, television and OTT and I did that as well," he added.
Oberoi, who plays the role of a policeman named Vikram Bakshi, said it was a dream to be part of Shetty's cop universe. He also credited the director for altering the image of police officers via his films.
"Every actor wants to be part of a Rohit Shetty film, and if you are part of the cop universe then it's a dream come true (moment). Playing Vikram Bakshi was an amazing experience, and we have a lot of love and respect for the cops," he said.
"Since, the time we are doing films, the whole image of cops, brave, courageous and sacrificing police officers has had a lot of contributions to cinema by Rohit Shetty. Most of the times when we were growing up, most cops would be villains, corrupt, or cops would come late, onscreen. He (Rohit) changed that. It is a huge achievement and 'Indian Police Force' is an extension of that," he added.
Also starring actors Shweta Tiwari, Nikitin Dheer, Rituraj Singh and Lalit Parimoo in pivotal roles, "Indian Police Force" is set to release on January 19 on Prime Video.
