Anna Ador: With OTT platforms international actors have a larger scope of roles to play

Anna Ador

Actress Anna Ador, born in Belarus and having worked in Indian web series like Aranyak and Campus Diaries is glad that foreign actors are getting pivotal roles thanks to OTT platforms. The actress speaks to mid-day.com about her journey.

How did your interest in acting develop?
My interest in acting came from watching a lot of plays. My grandmom used to work in Youth Theatre in Minsk, as a cleaning lady. She would get me to watch a lot of shows for free and that's when I was completely mesmerized with theatre art. My first break was a Gujarati film called Passport which was released in 2016 (on Prime Video now). We were trending for 6 months back to back. That was my first lead role in Indian film industry. After that followed Boseead/alive, now Aranyak and Campus Diaries.

How did you get your first Indian project and what was the experience like?
My first Indian project was a film called Gurgaon by Shanker Raman. The associate director on that film, Ajitpal Singh found my profile on Facebook and asked me to audition for the part. And later I also got a call for the same audition from MCCC casting. So it felt like it was meant to be. The experience was beyond incredible. The writers/makers of the film were the people I was already looking up to and used to follow their work already. I would ask for permission to be on set even when I was not filming, just to observe their process. I'm always too curious about things.

Your most challenging project till date?
I feel one of the most challenging projects till date was Aranyak. First of all, the number of quarantine days we spent before each schedule was insane! But jokes aside, it was physically and mentally exhausting. Aimee's story is heartbreaking and I had to go through rigorous prep work to get into her skin. It was one of those roles when it's hard to find yourself back into your own self.

Would you agree foreign actors are getting better roles on OTT rather than the stereotypical ones?
I feel that with OTT platforms international actors have a larger scope of roles to play now. All thanks to the new writers! For example, my recent show which by the way released today, called Campus Diaries where I played a character called Chloe, has such a beautiful storyline written for a foreigner! The best part is I could speak Hindi as well. The industry is definitely becoming more inclusive.