Prashantt Guptha is an America-born Indian-origin actor who moved to Mumbai in 2007 to pursue his celluloid dream. Originally from Jaipur in Rajasthan, Prashantt Guptha's family settled in New York City where he was born in 1982.
"Like many other people from the Indian diaspora, my parents were also fond of Indian culture," Guptha said. "So I started taking part in Indian cultural events at the age of five. By the time I was 17, I had decided to become an actor."
Despite growing up in America, Guptha was always more interested in Indian cinema. "My father raised me on Indian cinema," he explained. "I had very little exposure to American cinema or the American way of life. Even in the early 1990s, growing up in America, I was exposed more to Dilip Kumar and Balraj Sahni as actors and Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Talat Mahmood as singers than American stars. So one can say I have experienced Indian cinema's golden era."
Guptha, who came into the limelight with performances in films like Issaq (2013) and Neerja (2016), believes the film industry took a long time to open its doors to him and that is why he chose to put his talent out in the short-video format.
"I would have ideally loved to do 30 or 40 films by now and be known for my acting talent," Guptha said. "We live in a time where, if we are not given opportunities, we have to create our own. So I started putting my singing and poetry videos on YouTube. The idea was to find platforms like Cinestaan, MensXP, ScoopWhoop who can pick up your content and show it to the world and that is what will give you more exposure."
Digital platforms and OTT platforms have opened up a host of opportunities for those who want to create content. Many leading actors and actresses have started their own YouTube channels. Guptha also has his own YouTube channel where he uploads his poetry and song-cover videos.
"Today, because of social media and other digital platforms, short video content has boomed," he pointed out. "You can become viral in an instant because of the virality of the short video format. It has the potential to give you the status of an influencer. I also upload my singing videos and poetry to put my talent out to the public, but I'm foremost an actor and from acting my other talents stem."
There was a time when working in films was the ultimate goal of an Indian artiste, but Guptha believes that with the exponential growth of short videos in the past few years, people can make a career in making short videos, achieve huge popularity, and be known worldwide without ever working in cinema. Youngsters have become so technologically savvy that they understand the mathematics behind making a video viral. They know what kind of video will go viral and how to grow and monetize one's channel.
Last year Guptha worked in his first American film, A New Christmas, playing a lonely medical student in New York City, estranged from his wife and grieving the loss of his mother, when he rediscovers himself after meeting Kioni, a charming film student from Kenya.
Talking about the experience of working in a Hollywood production, he remarked, "I have to say A New Christmas was a dream come true because I always wanted to shoot in New York because it's my first home. One difference I definitely found after working in India and Hollywood is the sense of discipline and punctuality. That blew my mind more than anything."
Speaking of the new short-video app Zinglin, which was launched last month by UFO Moviez and offers content creators the exciting possibility of having their ultra-short films screened in cinema halls, Guptha said, "Aspiring young actors need a very democratic platform that will showcase their talent. I don't think great talent can be hidden for long. UFO Moviez is a pioneer in film distribution and for them to create a platform like Zinglin, which allows people to showcase their talent on the big screen, is a unique idea. I would love to put my content on the app!"
Guptha has recently completed shooting for a film titled Love You Bahut Sara. "The film stars Revathy, Vikram Gokhale, and myself, and it's in the last leg of post-production," he said. "I'm also creating a web-series for the Indian film market. Hopefully, everything will work out according to plan."