Radhika Apte, Sushmita Sen top IIHB’s list of OTT Queens

Indian Institute of Human Brands has crowned Radhika Apte as the reigning queen in the Indian OTT space with a score of 9. Sushmita Sen and Nora Fatehi came second with 8.5.

The report titled OTT Queens – The new oomph brigade covered 50 leading actresses on multiple OTT platforms and other video platforms. The study covered 883 respondents, based on IIHB’s TIARA research methodology.

“The OTT space has grown exponentially during the past few months as the pandemic and the lockdowns kept everyone home, and the television networks dried up because they did not have enough episodes of content in banking. So, while the GEC channels started to show re-runs of ‘evergreen’ content, and no new movies got released, it became celebration time for OTTs. Live streaming, binge-watching and Netflixing became the most significant indulgences for all, especially the creamy layer of the audiences,” the report.

Other women featured in the study included  Nora Fatehi, Maanvi Gagroo, Mithila Palkar, Prajakta Koli, Urvashi, Rautela, Rasika Dugal, Richa Chadha and Kirti Kulhari.

The actresses were rated on parameters apart from their boldness and beauty.  

“Interestingly, they also need to be sensitive and glamorous. These may seem

to be polar opposites but in the case of these demi goddesses, kindness and

gloss seem to need to co-exist,” reads the report.

It says that being “unconventional” is an important attribute in the success of the OTT ladies.

“This could well be a function of the tricky themes of many of the OTTs, hence the need for the lead actresses to play roles that were traditionally not part of their usual repertoire. The ‘unconventional’ also perhaps extends to looks and body language too. Which is underlined by the attributes of witty and confident. Also, gritty. It is a competitive landscape and not easy for any of the players to differentiate,” it read.

The other parameters included sensitivity, glamour, confidence, wit, grit, determination and talent. Apte, who was practically in every new series of Netflix, has been rated highly on all these parameters.