Amit Sial on the Industry Standing at the Brink: 'This is Like a Lull Before the Storm — We Haven’t Hit the Storm Yet'

Amit Sial has seen enough cycles in the industry to recognise when something fundamental is shifting. To him, the turbulence the industry is experiencing isn’t surprising, rather it was long overdue. “Whatever phenomenon is happening as far as our industry goes, whatever setback, whatever is moving forward, whatever is going back... it was bound to happen. Everybody could see it coming.”

What he finds interesting is not the disruption itself, but the scale of the change it might trigger. “It is going to create a seismic shift in how the audiences watch what they watch. What makers would want to make,” he says. Then he offers an image that captures exactly where he believes we are right now. “This is like a lull before the storm. We haven’t hit the storm yet. The storm could be good, it could be bad. But it will definitely change. It will definitely metamorphosise into something better. And I am hopeful of that. And it has always happened. If you look at the past, it has always happened like that,” he adds.

If Sial is looking outward, Zahan Kapoor is looking inward. The actor, who has been receiving steady attention for Black Warrant, is quick to clarify that the show may feel like a debut to viewers, but it isn’t one for him. “People think that it is my first performance. Technically yes, you can call it a streaming series debut but it is my fifth piece of work.” 

But the sudden recognition comes with its own anxieties. “What am I scared of? Being a one-hit wonder. Being only good for this. How can I illustrate that I can do something radically different?” he admits.  Still, he feels something has shifted. “There has been a palpable change. I am still getting somewhat recognised randomly,” he says.