There’s something quietly refreshing about Amol Parashar’s journey—one that has unfolded without the usual markers of intent or design. From ‘TVF Tripling’ to ‘Sardar Udham’, and now ‘Gram Chikitsalay’ and ‘The Bureaucrat’, his body of work reflects a consistent pull towards stories that are both engaging and layered. He also performed ‘Besharam Aadmi’, a one-man play in Bengaluru, building a strong connection with audiences in the South while travelling across cities and countries.

There’s an ease to the way he moves between formats, but also a clear instinct guiding his choices. In this candid conversation, he speaks about stumbling into acting, leaning into creative risks, and why, above all, a story must first hold your attention before it can offer anything deeper.

You studied engineering at IIT Delhi. Did you always want to be an actor?
Not at all. I was actually the opposite of what you’d imagine an actor to be. I was quite shy, had stage fright, and avoided being on stage whenever I could: even something as simple as a school assembly. There’s this stereotype that actors are outgoing, expressive kids who love attention, but I wasn’t like that at all.

I started dabbling with it only after entering college at IIT Delhi. Like many campuses, it offered many opportunities to take part in extra-curricular activities, and I started exploring theatre there.

Even then, it didn’t feel like a career path. After graduating, I took up a job in Pune and worked for a year. It was only later that I decided to take a short break to try theatre more seriously. That break ended up becoming a full-time journey.

You’ve now worked across OTT, films, and theatre. What drew you back to the stage with ‘Besharam Aadmi’?
Theatre is where I started, and I had been missing it for a long time. Going back to the stage felt like reconnecting with something very fundamental. A one-man show seemed like the best way to do that because it offers a certain independence—you don’t have to coordinate with multiple actors, and it’s easier to travel with.

‘Besharam Aadmi’ came to me at the right time. I had been thinking about doing a solo performance, and then I came across this script, which instantly clicked. It had humour, irreverence, and a very contemporary theme, but without being preachy.

What makes ‘Besharam Aadmi’ relatable to the audiences?
The play explores ideas of conditioning and gender roles, but in a very light, humorous way. It’s about a man who feels awkward holding his wife’s bra in front of his parents—something that reveals a lot about our conditioning.

It’s interesting because women have been handling men’s clothes for years without any stigma, but when the roles reverse, there’s discomfort. The play explores that contradiction—why it exists, where it comes from, and how deeply it is ingrained in us.