Amit Sial: I've never had checklists. I have got everything organically | Interview

Amit Sial might look intense, courtesy all the roles we’ve seen him play in countless series and films, but in real life, he’s the easiest person to talk to. In a candid chat right before the release of his new film Tikdam, Amit spoke exclusively about living a slow and organic life, never making notes of things he’s achieved and what’s left, and just telling stories that need to be told.

In Tikdam, Amit leads the film as a father who is torn between leaving his quaint little town for better money in the big city and staying with his kids who try their best to make him stay back. A family drama that speaks to the heart, Tikdam is about the pain of having to leave your home in search of better career opportunities. It is also about the pain of those who get left behind.

Here are the edited excerpts of our exclusive chat:

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Q: Mirzapur, Maharani, Jamtara...they are all great stories but whileyour characters were different, these were all essentially cut from the same cloth. Tikdamlooks very different from anything you’ve done before. What can you tell us about it?

A: Taking it forward from what you mentioned, it's a completely different genre. It's a family-oriented film. After a long time, people can sit with their families and watch one of my works without one wondering when I would say something disturbing. Yeah, it's a beautiful family film. It's about a father who, for the first time, due to a lack of job opportunities in his little town, has to travel to the bigger city Mumbai, in search of work and how the kids try to stop him.

Q: What is your current mood like?

A: I am very excited. I am very light in my head right now. These films are not very easy to make and release. I am hoping with this the industry gets a lot of power and courage to make more things like Tikdam.

Q: This is the first time you won't play an intense character on screen in a long time. Did the film help you get in touch with your sensitive side?

A: I have always been in touch with my sensitive side. It's just that Vivek, the director of the film, has given me an opportunity to showcase it. I've done a lot of intense work and it takes a toll after a point of time. I was actually looking for something like this. I think I manifested it correctly so it just came my way out of the blue.

Vivek was sure about me being able to pull this off. He was, in fact, much much more confident than I was. I had so much fun shooting this film. It’s a small film but with a big heart.

Q: Where was this shot?

A: This was shot in a place called Khurpa Tal in Uttarakhand. It is about 15 or 20 minutes away from Nainital. It's a small village. Vivek was actually looking for something like this. He had written this kind of a quaint little village in his script and it's magical that we found the exact same place. All of us lived together for 30-35 days. We ate, slept, drank, cried, laughed, and worked together. The relationship that we all developed together, not only the actors but the crew as well, and that place we were living in, villagers of that place – I think it all sort of got into the film. This is why the film looks what it looks like.

Q: What can you tell us about the film’s relatability factor since so many people leave their homes on a regular basis?

A: I think you've answered the question yourself. It's very relatable because every now and then we keep hearing these stories around our vicinity. Look at all the domestic help that we have in our houses. They're always away from home. Look at the rickshaw-wallahs in Mumbai. They're always away from home. The pain of being away from family, not only for the person who leaves his house in search of work but the other family members who get left behind– it all creates a huge void which you realise in time. This is how the film is relatable to anybody.

Watch Tikdam trailer here:

The film applies to all strata of society. It doesn't matter how rich you are, if you're not there at home with your kids, both parties, the father and the kids miss each other. There are countless missed opportunities which would have arisen otherwise –the fun, the learning, the spending of time with each other, knowing each other better. So relatability-wise, I think it's a universal film. Not only India but Tikdam is relatable anywhere in the world.

Q: Did you always want to be an actor?

A: The first play I did in school, I think I was in the 7th or 8th grade or maybe even earlier. I don’t clearly remember. The kind of ecstasy I felt after the play finished and the applause, the attention that I got from girls, you know what I'm saying…I always knew I wanted this. But back then I was doing it more for fame than acting. When I became serious about the profession, then I actually started loving the creative part of it, the performance part of it, the learning of yourself part of it. But I always knew that I wanted to act, that this is the best that I am at.

Q: Do you have a to-do list? Is there a mental checklist of things you want to do?

A: I've never strategised anything. I've never planned anything. My life is full of magic. I'm serious about it. I'm not joking! There are people in my industry, in other industries and in other walks of life who are go-getters. I've never even been like that. I just wanted to live life organically, no matter how slow it is. So no checklist, I've never had any checklist. Everything is happening on its own. If you are organic enough in your system and you are not in a hurry, you will keep finding things and things will keep finding you.

Q: Amit, were there moments you thought you hadenough when things weren’t working out?

A: I think during my acting career, when I actually came to Mumbai 20 years back, it has happened several times. But every time I would think I had enough and that it’s not going anywhere, I always got something. Something always worked out.

It was always like the city wouldn't just let me go. I would get some offer which was impossible to refuse. These were very good films. Titli also happened like that.