Kathmandu Connection: Amit Sial Says, ‘I Have Made Up My Mind Not To Play A Cop For A While’- EXCLUSIVE
Amit, who will be seen in Sony Liv’s Kathmandu Connection, talks about the show, playing cop again, why he doesn’t do more movies and his future projects
Amit Sial, who has gained recognition for his grey shade roles on OTT is coming back to the digital screen with his upcoming web show Kathmandu Connection on Sony Liv. Talking about the show, Amit says it is a fictional story set against the backdrop of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast.
“But the blast is not the main focus of the story. It’s about three lives intertwining in the backdrop of that incident,” he shares, adding that he plays a cop in the show. “He is a rebel cop who is obsessed with his work and his personal life is slipping away because of that. But he is so addicted to his work that he cannot help it. There is a crime and mafia angle to it and how the three lives in the show merge with each other is how the story unfolds. It’s a crime-thriller with drama and a love story.”
Kathmandu Connection also features Gopal Datt, Aksha Pardasany, Anshumaan Pushkar among others and Amit reveals that It was a fantastic experience. “Actually, I have worked with most of the primary cast before. I worked with Gopal on A Simple Murder and with Anshuman on Jamtara, and the whole team of Kathmandu Connection was almost the same one that worked on A Simple Murder and Rangbaaz Phirse. It was very comfortable realigning with them and the focus was just on how to get things right and achieve excellence. The comfort factor helped in that,” he gushes.
Amit has done a lot of cop roles in web shows and films. Mention that fact to him and he cuts in, “I have made up my mind not to play a cop for a while. Every time till now, I have tried to separate the character from his profession but after a certain time, it becomes a drag going into that same zone again and again. I want to challenge myself now and I straightaway say no for a role as soon as I hear the word cop,” he laughs.
The actor hasn’t been a part of films for a long time, and he explains why. “Whenever I did movies, it was due to several other factors like need of money or the role was so good that I had to do it. I used to follow my heart, but then OTT saved me as I was not at all happy with the kind of work I was doing and the work that was being made in films. OTT plucked me out of my misery,” he asserts, but points out that just like films, here too people get comfortable with the kind of work happening and one starts getting typecast. “So, then life become a mix of conscious and subconscious choices, sometime from mind and sometimes from heart. Everybody follows this pattern, I do too, and sometimes you say yes to a project just after looking at your bank balance,” he quips.
With the booming phase of OTT, a lot of middle age actors like Jaideep Ahlawat in Paatal Lok and Shefali Shah in Delhi Crime have received a lot of success that they couldn’t in films. Ask Amit if he feels that even he is on the same track and he says, “I believe it’s a fantastic time for artists, be it actors, writers, directors or people from the technical side, from all age groups. Scope of getting work has increased so much and makers are looking for more talent. It’s the golden age,” he insists.
Amit’s future projects include the third season of Inside Edge and he informs that the team had shot for it way before in the pre-Covid world. “Due to Covid, everything went on back burner. But work is being done on it and hopefully there should be an announcement soon,” he assures, adding that he will be also seen in Randeep Hooda and Urvashi Rautela-starrer Inspector Avinash and is currently shooting for a web show with Subhash Kapoor as the showrunner. “I have also done a small sweet film with Deepak Dobriyal, Neha Sharma and Namit Das for Zee and that should be coming out soon,” he concludes.
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