Panday says the subject’s light-handed treatment drew him to director Navjot Gulati’s series for Amazon mini TV. “It is a comedy-drama with an in-depth take on the business, without being preachy or bitchy. When people show Bollywood, they usually depict its glamorous side. But this series is about the film industry that exists in Aram Nagar and Lokhandwala, and showcases the lives of the young people [trying to break into the industry]. It’s not dark; the reality is handled in a humorous manner,” he shares. 

Hansal Mehta

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The senior actor has a knack for bringing humour into his parts. It wasn’t any different for his role of Raman Kumar, whom Panday describes as a “jugaadu producer”. As it turns out, he had a few ready references for the part. “I play a jugaadu producer who multi-tasks. I modelled it on a few producers whom I worked with in the ’80s and ’90s, and who are active now. So, Raman Kumar is a cocktail of five crazy characters!”

A series about Bollywood cannot be complete without the presence of the industry folk. “Many real-life struggling young actors, writers, and directors, have acted in the show. Many celebrities have done cameos too, including Hansal Mehta, Guneet Monga, Kunal Kapoor, and Kartiki Gonsalves [The Elephant Whisperers director],” says Panday. Though he has been in the business for over three decades, the actor says Industry—written by Gulati, Gullak creator Shreyansh Pandey, Girish Jotwani, Shreemi Verma and Abhishek Dixit—acquainted him with a new side of the film world. “In my 38 years as an actor, I have met so many people who have written scripts and want to make them into movies. I only knew about the Bandra side of the film industry, this world in Andheri was a revelation to me.”