Everyone agrees that streaming has brought about a change in how actors are viewed and perceived among the masses. Shows like Paatal Lok and Scam 1992 have helped actors Jaideep Ahlawat and Pratik Gandhi become household names. Gajraj Rao, who has worked in both shows and films, feels that web shows have democratised stardom in India, which used to have a big class-divide just three decades ago.
Gajraj Rao on stardom’s class divide
Gajraj Rao equated the film industry to a train while speaking at the recently-concluded FICCI Frames 2026, saying that stars enjoyed much greater privileges in Bollywood in the 90s, while all other actors were just struggling. “Mera isme aisa sochna hai ki 25-30 saal pehle tak industry ek train ke jaisi thi. Isme ek bogey AC 1st class thi jisme stars the. Baaki 100-200 bogeys general compartments me actors ko bina ticket ke apni jagah banani padti thi. (I feel that till 25-30 years ago, film industry was like a train that had one bogey of AC 1st class. That had all the stars. After that were 100-200 bogeys of general compartments where actors were left ticketless fighting for their place).”
Gajraj was speaking in a session titled ‘Crafting clean, character-driven comedy for a diverse audience’ along with his show Dupahiya’s co-creators Salona Bains Joshi and Shubh Shivdasani, director Sonam Nair, co-actors Bhuvan Arora and Sparsh Srivastava, along with Nikhil Madhok – Director and Head of Originals (SVOD), Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios India, and Shilangi Mukherji – Director and Head of SVOD Business, Prime Video India.
During the session, Gajraj touched upon how the star system in Indian entertainment industry changed after the arrival of TV soaps and eventually streaming platforms. “Kuch saal pehle, saare private networks aaye, Ekta Kapoor aayi aur unhone actors ko respect dilayi, rozgar dilaye, cars dilayi. Uske baad pichle 7-8 saal me ek aur change aaya ki uss train me 2nd AC aur 3rd AC ke kuch dabbe lag gaye, aur actors ko ab unki berth mil rahi hai. (A few years ago, private networks arrived as did Ekta Kapoor. They gave actors respect, work, and cars. After that, 7-8 years ago, another change happened and that train now had some bogeys of 2nd AC and 3rd AC too where actors can get berth).”
The actor emphasised that has helped a few ‘actors’ crossover as ‘stars’ too. “Kayi baar kuch mauke milte hain ki 1st AC me bhi kuch actor type ke log ghus jaate hain (Often it happens that some actor type people enter the 1st AC too now).
Gajraj Rao in Dupahiya
Gajraj’s comments come a month after the release and success of Mirzapur The Movie, a spinoff of Prime Video’s successful show, Mirzapur. The film, featuring much of the original cast, has been a box office success, blurring the line between film stars and OTT stars.
Gajraj Rao is currently starring in Dupahiya. The show’s second season released on Prime Video on October 1. The series also stars Renuka Shahane, Bhuvan Arora, Sparsh Srivastava, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Komal Kushwaha, Yashpal Sharma, and Dinesh Lal Yadav.