After playing numerous intense roles for the better part of his acting career, Amit Sial is happy to be leading the light-hearted, slice-of-life film Tikdam, streaming on JioCinema. The actor who shot to fame with Inside Edge and Mirzapur talks about the character he plays in Tikdam, the role of OTT and his evolution as an actor.

What did you like about the character you play in Tikdam?

Amit Sial: I loved the idea of playing a dad to two kids, being a widower, having old parents at home and a hand-to-mouth existence in a quaint little hill station somewhere but very satisfied because they had so much love between them. And that was enough for them to carry on in life. But suddenly the hotel he’s working at stops functioning because of climate change. No tourists are coming. I must give credit to the writer and the director. They have encompassed serious things in a light yet real environment without being preachy.

The kids are seven-10 years old. For the first time in his life, he has to move out of that village and leave the house where his wife died. He had promised his wife that he’d never leave the children alone. But now he has to because of the situation. There’s a beautiful line in the film where the last legs of the hotel close, he’s sitting with an auditor who’'s a foreigner. They start talking about careers and ambition and everything. He asks her, ‘Why did you leave your kids back in England?’ And she says, ‘No, I’m ambitious. It’s okay to have kids, but it’s okay to have ambition also.’ He says, ‘It is a compulsion for me, otherwise I would never leave my children.’ She says, ‘You have a choice.’ And he says, ‘No ma’am, I don’t have a choice because kids can live without their father, but not without food.’ So that’s the plight he is in. And that sets up the mood of the film.

Do you think there are enough child characters in cinema today? Are stories not being written for children?

Amit Sial: I think that when OTT came, there was a huge explosion of content and no censorship. Whoever wanted to say something started putting it down on paper. Be it Inside Edge’s cricket world or Mirzapur’s crime world, if it was interesting enough, good stories started coming out. So, everybody started to build on crime shows. They started forgetting other genres.

I don’t know why we as makers are always so scared of showing the truth. Tikdam is a very truthful film. It’s not only a children’s film. It’s about a family, a father and grandparents. It’s also about the little dreams and hopes. I think the reason why they don’t make these kinds of films is because simplicity is the hardest tale to tell. I think Panchayat changed it, and Tikdam will also change it.

Do you think fatigue has set into OTT?

Amit Sial: Yes. You can see that the budgets had gone over the top. A lot of mismanagement was happening. It was only one crime show after another. They have to amend themselves again. Now, I think, they are taking a step back to see what to do next.

But OTT did give a new lease of life to so many actors.

Amit Sial: OTT gave a deserving competition to the cinemas. It is here to stay. You can see the cinema content improving too. People have started flocking back to the cinemas. But we’ve got a long way to go.

How do you look at your journey so far?

Amit Sial: In a word, wondrous. I still wonder how I’ve reached here. I want to go as far as I can from this place. When I say that, I’m only implying that as an actor I want to keep growing. I want to get my hands on important projects with a larger cause. I want to try all the genres. I’m very keen on exploring myself as an actor. That has always been my oxygen because I wanted to evolve as an actor. After all, it helps you as a human being to evolve too. And now, I understand the craft much better. I think I’ll be happy as long as I can keep this spirit intact.

When things were not happening, how did you cope?

Amit Sial: I got into this habit of talking to myself. I have always felt that there’s some magic happening in my life. Because every time I wanted to give up, I would get something that would keep me back in the city.

For example, my first film (Hope and a Little Sugar, 2006) was a huge success for me because I was the leading man. Mahima Chaudhary was the leading lady. Directed by Tanuja Chandra, it was shot in New York City and featured Anupam Kher. I think it got to my head a little because I kept saying no to other work. But the film took four years to release. Then I was back to square one. I thought that I had wasted four years of my life. But now I realise that not even one second is wasted for an actor because it gives you so much. So, I went back to theatre. I started a theatre group with my friends and started doing plays. Then I started getting these titbit roles.

Were you happy with those roles?

Amit Sial: I got this bit role in Peter Gaya Kaam Se (2010). I remember sitting on the set and thinking that one day I would lead a film like this. But I was happy being on the set and at work. And then by doing these tidbit roles, I suddenly got Dibakar Banerjee’s Love, Sex Aur Dhokha (2010). My story was one-third of the film and in the half of that one-third, I’m not even seen because I’m the camera. But I had such a blast. It gave me enough confidence for the next two years. Then Subhash Kapoor gave me Phans Gaye Re Obama (2010). Then I got Kanu Behl’s Titli (2015).

Did you go knocking at people’s offices?

Amit Sial: I did, but not the way one would want you to do. People want to see your talent. I couldn’t show my talent. I think not having work has taught me as much as having work would have taught me. It dawned upon me when I got Inside Edge and I started getting more work. I told myself to just keep working and not give too many excuses. Then there was no stopping.

Now that you have a lot of work on OTT, how does it feel?

Amit Sial: Relief more than anything else. Thank God that I am on the right path. I knew that I was on the right path – acting – but now I want to set my career graph in good shape. I think I’m a late learner.

You have done international films such as Umrika (2015) and Yellow Bus. How was the experience?

Amit Sial: Both were amazing experiences. I found an amazing friend in Prashant Nair (director of Umrika). It is brilliant to see him evolve. After Trial by Fire (2023), he did Tryst with Destiny (2021). Film after film, he is getting better. And this is what it should be like. For Yellow Bus, I was recommended by Tannishtha Chatterjee, and I had a great time.