There was a time when networks ran things. With the arrival of cable, dramas such as Game of Thrones won over critics and picked up trophies. But it didn’t take networks out of the game. This has now changed with maybe one network series like This is Us making it to a best drama category.

With OTT mediums - from giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime to lesser-known versions of the same idea in the South Asian region - the evolution of television that fans longed for has finally became a reality. In America that realisation came early with limited series getting a chance to run with the big dogs who dominated the most prominent TV ceremony, the Emmys.

In India, Bollywood films had its market and own ceremonies. TV, too, had its own award ceremonies. But with various options from Amazon India or Netflix India – two prime examples of OTT platforms - actors including A-list names like Saif Ali Khan, Pooja Bhatt, Rahul Bose and more have finally been convinced to sign on for ‘television’.

From comebacks to mainstream actors to unknown names, Netflix India gave edgier narrative a chance to thrive while bans on one thing or another made at least a generation of Bollywood fans more and more ambivalent to its current releases.

Keeping the evolution in mind, Filmfare went ahead and launched The Filmfare OTT Awards with the first edition held in late 2020. Filmfare Awards, which recognize popular actors and films, continue to exist even as they’re developing a better screening process for what should and shouldn’t be a nominated. A case in point is how all the major Khans (Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir) were missing from the Best Actor nominee list at its last ceremony.

With a total of 32 categories, the now-OTT ceremony is set up to recognise and reward OTT content. Sacred Games, starring Saif Ali Khan and Naseeruddin Siddiqui, has bagged at least one international Emmy Award nomination.

Since launching, Filmfare OTT Awards has picked acting skills over star power alone even as more and more Indian actors are turning to the media. Scam 1992 - The Harshad Mehta Story in its first season won multiple awards in 2021 as did The Family Man featuring Manoj Bajpayee.

In film, Konkana Sen Sharma, one of the more underused actors in Bollywood, won Best Actor in an Original Film (Female) for Ajeeb Daastaans while Nawazuddin Siddiqui won Best Actor (Male) with the film, Serious Men.

Since inception, other brilliant actors have won such as Manoj Bajpayee (The Family Man - Season 2) and Amruta Subhash (Bombay Begums). Star-actors like Sushmita Sen won Best Actor in a Drama Series (Female) for Aarya, while Paatal Lok won Best Series in 2020.

In the end, the no-holds-barred style of production and storytelling is what has attracted actors to the medium. But as more actors join and streaming networks emerge, what Filmfare has done by launching OTT Awards is give room to talent that isn’t recognized elsewhere.

With Pakistani actors such as Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed starring in an upcoming web series and Mahira Khan making her debut as film producer with Baarwan Khiladi, which will be streamed on Tapmad, it is perhaps time that Pakistan has its own version of OTT awards. We have the content, promising in comparison to its mainstream cousin, but without some form of recognition, it might not take off as smoothly as we hope and might even create resentment within industry ranks. Digital is the future. Some of the greatest filmmakers have conceded; it is time Pakistan creates its own version of OTT Awards as well, the end.