Actor Anushka Sharma's brother Karnesh Ssharma opened up about his latest venture, a streaming platform dedicated to telling women-oriented stories, Clean OTT. Karnesh told Hindustan Times that he wants to create content with a female gaze and credited his upbringing for the respect he has for women.
Talking about Anushka's involvement in Clean OTT, Karnesh said, "Anushka will be involved as an actor, for sure, but not as a producer or creative input. But always a well-wisher for sure. She is talented and one of the best out there."
Anushka Sharma had announced, on , that she would be stepping away from the siblings’ other venture, the production house Clean Slate Filmz. Anushka had released a statement informing that she wants to dedicate the time she has to her ‘first love’ acting.
“When I started Clean Slate Filmz with my brother Karnesh Ssharma, we were novices when it came to production but we had a fire in our belly and we wanted to try and set the agenda of entertainment in India through clutter-breaking content,” Anushka’s statement read.
She credited Karnesh for ‘shaping what CSF has become today’ and added that she trusts Karnesh to take forward the vision the duo had for Clean Slate Filmz.
Karnesh told Hindustan Times that the idea of ‘Clean OTT’ is to have a streaming service for women, “The idea is, of course, to have an OTT platform for women. But it is also to have a platform that tells stories that have a positive female gaze. It could be a story with male protagonists but what the gaze of the story is for women is very important."
Talking about the need for such a platform, he said, “Most of the programming that we have in our landscape is 70-80% male-dominated. There is obviously alienation of a consumer base that has not been catered to,” adding, “This is a platform which is focusing on stories by, of, and for women. Not everybody wants to do that. It limits the amount of stories you can tell. The idea was to have a platform, which will tell such stories at a faster frequency."
Clean Slate Filmz has several successful women-led projects to its name including NH-10, Pari, and Bulbbul. The production house also has the Sakshi Tanwar-starrer Mai lined up for release.
Karnesh also opened up about his upbringing and said that he and Anushka were treated the same without gender becoming a deciding factor.
“I come from a defence upbringing. My father was in the Indian Army and Anushka and I were never treated differently. As much as she had to come home early after playing in the evening, I had to too. It wasn't like I was given any leeway there. I think that's what Defence taught us,” Karnesh Ssharma said.
He further revealed that there are almost 18 titles ready in the pipeline, “We have the right people in the right jobs and we hope to be able to tell stories that matter soon.”