An ode to Amit Sial - What a Fantastic performer

The world has always been quick to level tags like ‘one night wonder boy,’ “’lucky person,’ and ‘whose fate changed overnight,’ among others. Barring a few real exceptional cases of luck, most of these successful people had spent their entire lives trying to improve their craft, regardless of whether or not they received proper recognition from the media, fans, or colleagues. Amit Sial is one such actor who is upping his game with every other performance he gives but is yet to get the admiration he deserves.

Made his own way to the top

Amit Sial was born on July 1, 1975, in Kanpur, India. He got inclined towards acting when he was only eight years old. Without rushing into things, Amit completed his academic studies along with improving his acting skills. After completing B.Com. Honours from Delhi University, he went to Australia to study International Business from Swinbourne University of Technology (SUT).

Later, he came to Mumbai to pursue his passion for acting. In Mumbai, he directed two short adaptations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet for Prithvi Theatre. In 2006, he made his acting debut with director Tanuja Chandra’s film “Hope and a Little Sugar.” He once narrated the story behind his first audition and his feelings around it.

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He stated that, on account of being new to the location, he got late to a scheduled audition. His unpunctual act had badly infuriated the director. Consequently, she reduced the stipulated duration of his audition from 25 minutes to 10 minutes to showcase his acting talent. He was stopped midway through the audition. Later, the director told him to start losing weight—an indirect message conveying that he got the role.

By then, Amit had worked so much on his acting skills that he made it into the industry through his very first audition, and that too after throwing the director off balance with his unpunctual behavior.

Amazed with the ease with which he pulled success in his first try, Amit always wondered why others had to struggle for so long to get a role in the film industry. He once stated, “Itna kya struggle karte rehte hain log 5-6 saal, merko toh itni jaldi role mil gaya (Why do people keep struggling for 5-6 years? I got a role so quickly).”

Afterwards, he played small but impactful cameos in films like ‘Phas Gaye Ray Obama,’ ‘Love Sex and Dhokha,’ and ‘Titli.’

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The endless debate between nepotism and outsider

Whatever is stated in the media, the industry has been meting out stepmotherly treatment to “outsiders.” Amit Sial had to face several rejections even after giving memorable performances. The advent of OTT has proved to be a career-maker for these talented actors, who would have otherwise kept struggling to make their name in the horde of nepokids.

Amit Sial’s name started making rounds among the fans with his role as Devendra Mishra in Amazon Prime’s series “Inside Edge.” His performance dominated the series and outshone other characters.

However, the major turning point was his role in two projects, namely ‘Raid’ and ‘Mirzapur.’ In the presence of heavyweights like Ajay Devgan and Saurabh Shukla, he made his presence felt in the role of Lallan Sudhir. Similarly, he effortlessly pulled the role of SSP Maurya in the popular series Mirzapur and Brijesh Bhan in ‘Jamtara.’

But for many fans, his unforgettable role and best performance so far have been in Maharani. His peculiar representation of a politician, Naveen Kumar, who wants to be the Chief Minister at any cost, has created a separate fan base and a template for this refreshing style of representation.

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Furthermore, he literally carried the series ‘Kathmandu Connection’ on his shoulders. In the recently released musical maestro film, ‘Qala,’ Amit Sial impressed the audiences with his brief cameo in the role of Sumant Kumar. In several of his interviews, he has demonstrated a positive approach towards handling any situation.

Rather than complaining about the insider privileges, he has many times highlighted the added advantage outsiders, who hail from tier-2 or tier-3 cities or villages, have over the nepokids.

He stated that ‘outsiders’ like him have richer life experiences, and this knowledge works because the more life experiences one has, the better actor they become. In his nearly two-decade cinematic career, Amit Sial has shown the boundless depth and versatility of his acting skill. So, don’t be surprised if on account of his upcoming few series, his leapfrogging success is tagged as overnight success.

Avid cinema lovers and his fans have seen him grow in strength and sharpness in his acting. Success is an inevitable outcome for such greatly talented persons, so it is better not to trivialise their success as a result of fate or luck; it is their sheer talent and hard work that have, will, and will keep on making fortune for such successful persons.