I've gained more recognition from doing short films, OTT projects, TV serials than feature films: Sharat Sonu

Actor Sharat Sonu who made his debut with Manish Jha’s ‘Anwar’ has set a formidable example for fellow actors by exploring opportunities across all mediums to expand his base as a performer

I've gained more recognition from doing short films, OTT projects, TV serials than feature films: Sharat Sonu
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Murtaza Ali Khan

Gone are those days when actors kept themselves hinged to a medium, format, or a region/industry in particular. Today, we are witnessing a new breed of actors who are not just platform agnostic but are also quite comfortable when it comes to transcending regional boundaries. In fact, it’s this versatility that’s allowing a lot of performers to stay relevant as working actors despite the great uncertainty and hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last couple of years.

Actor Sharat Sonu who made his debut with Manish Jha’s ‘Anwar’ has set a formidable example for fellow actors by exploring opportunities across all mediums to expand his base as a performer. Hailing from Bihar, Sharat started his acting journey with the theatre before coming to Mumbai in 2003.

Over the last decade or so, Sharat has starred in various TV shows such as ‘Powder,’ ‘Shubh Vivah,’ ‘Sadda Haq,’ ‘Crime Patrol Dial 100,’ and ‘Yeh Hai Mohabbatein,’ among others. He has also been associated with films like ‘Super 30,’ ‘Romeo Akbar Walter,’ ‘Kaagaz,’ ‘Murder Meri Jaan,’ ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar,’ and ‘The Legend of Michael Mishra’.

His most recent release was Aditya Sarpotdar’s Marathi film ‘Zombivli’. Also, he recently shot for a TVC in Telugu. Hailing from Bihar, he has also tried his hands at content in the Maithili language. “It’s important for me to get as much exposure as possible as an actor and so I don’t want to overlook any platform, medium or format where I can express myself,” explains Sharat. “There was a time when I was only focused on doing feature films but now I know better. As a matter of fact, I have gained more recognition from doing short films, OTT projects, and TV serials than feature films,” adds Sharat who considers Imtiaz Ali’s short film ‘Paani Panchayat,’ directed by his brother Arif Ali, to be his best work.

One of the reasons why the long form format is more suited to character actors like Sharat Sonu is that while roles of character artistes are often edited out in films, the series on the other hand thrive on multiple character arcs. “I see the rise of OTT platforms as a boon for character actors like me. As an actor working in the OTT space, I get good screen space as well as scope to perform which is often not possible while working in the movies as makers are always striving for shorter running times for their films,” explains Sharat who will next be shooting for a big banner series in Gujarat.


Like most actors, Sharat too has been severely impacted by the pandemic but he greatly benefitted from doing TV commercials which provided him with some stability. “Things were going pretty well but then pandemic struck leading to great uncertainty owing to which shoots got stalled, resulting in loss of work. Some of the projects that were already finalized were postponed. As a result, I lost ‘Fukrey 3’. But TV commercials kept me going as I got to work with the likes of MS Dhoni, Ajay Devgn, and Pankaj Tripathi, among others,” reveals Sharat who has recently finished shooting for a film wherein he plays the part of Amit Sial’s character’s younger brother. He will next be shooting for a film titled ‘Harry Up’.

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