Amit Vikram Pandey is an actor who recently starred in the popular Netflix Series, Maamla Legal Hai. He played the role of Law, a lawyer struggling to come up. The show and his character has been recieving positive reviews from the audiences. The series was the Number 1 show in India on Netflix even for weeks after its release.
The series also stars prominent names like Ravi Kishen, Naila Grewal, Nidhi Bisht, Anant Joshi and Yashpal Sharma among others, in prominent roles. The series is directed by Rahul Pandey and created by Sameer Saxena.
Apart from being an actor, Amit Vikram Pandey has featured in many Television Commercials for big brands. He has the willingness to learn and get better with each project that he undertakes. As Maamla Legal Hai gears up for its second season, he opened up to Icy Tales about his experience working on the first season along with some of the major learnings that he had.
‘Maamla Legal Hai’ is one of the biggest projects I have done till now” – Amit Vikram Pandey
He truly stands by the saying that content is the king. “If this was not true, we wouldn’t have had many small projects that are actually performing great at the industry”, he said. He also pointed out the example of how the film 12th Fail performed really well and received great responses from the audience inspite of not starring big names in the film. He also highlighted that most freshers in the industry don’t have the option to choose scripts. “Even for me, if I had the option to choose scripts I would definitely choose”.
“The Maamla Legal Hai crew felt like a family” – Amit Vikram Pandey
Amit Vikram Pandey stated that it was wonderful working with his 8 other co-actors. “I was the least experienced guy in all of them so I had a lot to fill on my plate”, he stated. He also highlighted that most of the other actors have done more than 300 films so he got to learn a lot from them. He further added that he enjoys learning and listening to his senior actors when they share their experience. “When they speak on how they have grown and grabbed opportunities for themselves, it really inspired me”, he said.
He also stated that he felt a sense of oneness while working and shooting with the crew. “As an actor when you get work, you get very scared and nervous at first on whether you will be able to deliver but when you reach set and see that the cast and crew is like a family and that gives you confidence; the same happened with me”, he said. He appreciated his team members and cast by stating that they made him feel very comfortable on set that gave him more self-confidence.
He calls himself the listener in the team while others would discuss about every other topic. “They would discuss politics, stories and poems but I would just be listening to them and taking notes quietly”, he said. He is very grateful for the learnings that he has had while shooting for Maamla Legal Hai.
“Our society has accepted Courtroom Dramas as a genre” – Amit Vikram Pandey
Amit Vikram Pandey named a few Bollywood Courtroom Dramas and stated that it has gained large popularity in Indian societies. “Maamla Legal Hai is not exactly a Courtroom Drama but it portrays courts in general”, he said. He also added that there are many socio-political issues in the country and they have been highlighted in the series.
He further stated that the series showcases how chambers look, how the folders are kept and what a court is, from the perspective of a lawyer. “The series tells a lot about the world of lawyers and their politics; and this has not been explored much in Indian context“, he said. He is extremely happy with the response he is receiving on the series. “I feel very proud to say that the audience is loving it because I have received a lot of wishes myself”, he said.
“We had so much fun shooting; such that we all knew that this show is going to work really well” – Amit Vikram Pandey
Amit Vikram Pandey highlighted that there was no seniority of complexity between him and his team. He stated that everyone’s vanities would always be open and it would look like one big vanity. “Right from the director, producer and writer, to all the team members involved in making of the series, everyone would sit together in the vanity like one big family”, he said.
He also stated that there was no such thing as personal space or privacy because they would all eat and do almost everything together. “Whenever we had a quick break, everyone would come to our vanity and we all would have fun together”, he said.
He also added that sometimes through conversations and good bonding between the team, we can expect the production to go really well. “We knew that what is being made on this show is going to work and be loved by the audience”, he said. He gives this credit to the energy that was driven by the team in the atmosphere.
He appreciated the Director of the series, Rahul Pandey by calling him “the most hardworking person”. “Rahul Pandey sir is always very clear with what he wants and is very passionate about his work. He is very humble and sweet and ensured that every crew member feels like home while working there”, he said. He also added that the director’s approachable attitude was something he admires.
“In Long-Form Projects, it is like a small society where everyone knows everyone” – Amit Vikram Pandey
Having done a lot of Television Commercials (TVCs), Amit Vikram Pandey also spoke about the differences between shooting for an OTT film and TVCs. He highlighted time as the major factor while adding, “A TVC usually takes 1 day to 1 week for shoot but a series takes weeks to prepare”. He also spotted that during an OTT production, actors work with the same team for a longer duration and this eventually strengthens human relations.
“In short-form content like TVCs, you go on set, rehearse your lines, do the shoot and then go back home. But when it is a long-form project, you know everyone right from your co-actor to the costume designer and the spot dada”, he said.
Amit Vikram Pandey aims to work on more projects and enhance his skill as as an actor. He is surely one of the brightest upcoming actors that the industry has produced.
Check out the whole conversation with Amit Vikram Pandey on our YouTube Channel.
Last Updated on by Mehar Jolly