Actor Rajesh Tailang shot to fame on the digital space for his performance as a domineering father in Netflix’s Selection Day. The show, co-starring Mohammad Samad and Yash Dholye, was based on Arvind Adiga’s sports fiction novel of the same.
Speaking about the positive response to Selection Day and the advantages of long-form storytelling, Tailang said, “The OTT (over the top) revolution has created a great space for actors like me, who are slotted as ‘character actors’. The format allows both length and depth for the exploration of supporting characters, like the father’s journey in Selection Day. There was a lot of attention to his arc. This would’ve been impossible in the feature film format.”
Tailang agreed that premium streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have raised the standards of content creation in India.
He said, “Selection Day was co-produced by Anil Kapoor Films and Seven Stories and commissioned by Netflix. As a platform, Netflix has high standards of quality control. I remember before shooting for the show, we had to go through anti-harassment workshops to ensure the workspace remains safe. I have done another show for Netflix, Delhi Crime, which is based on the police investigation into the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case. It’s releasing on March 22.”
Asked about his role in Delhi Crime, Tailang said, “The Delhi incident had happened on December 16 and by December 21 the police had nabbed all the six culprits. The investigators had done a great job under ample pressure and agitation. The show is based on the two officers who had led the investigation, former DCP Chaya Sharma and former SIT head Rajendra Singh. We have changed their names to Vartika Chaturvedi, played by Shefali Shah, and Bhupendra Singh, played by me.”
Tailang was last seen in the Mukkabaaz and Aiyaary.