Amit Singh Thakur has had a vast experience as an actor with shows like Yahaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli, Shree, Kitani Mohabbat Hai, Punar Vivaah, Parivaar, Parichay to his credit. The man now helms administrative affairs at Shashi Sumeet Productions as the Head of Operations. Having been an actor himself, he shares a very good rapport with the entire cast and crew members of the company. And of course, he has a great association going with the Producers Sumeet and Shashi Mittal. In an exclusive conversation with Tellychakkar.com, Amit Singh Thakur talks about his journey as an actor and also as the Operation Head with the renowned production house. Excerpts: You have been an actor who has got into the operations job in Shashi Sumeet Productions. So how did you start this journey of yours in office? I'm still an actor. Acting reverberates in my life, in me. My association with Sumeet Mittal has been since Mission Fateh, a Sahara channel show we did in early 2000. Shashi Sumeet Production is Sumeet’s brainchild and ever since its inception in 2009, it’s growing. During that time I was concentrating on my acting and my business. I had a background of operations due to my business. So I joined the company to manage the operations of the production as the Deputy Head of Operations, and simultaneously I acted in their show Punar Vivah. Tell us about your acting experiences… Well, I started my career in acting as a child artist. Post that, I was a theatre artist in school and college. Then I got back and did a couple of TV shows in late 90's. We have not seen you on screen for a while now, does it mean that you have no time left from your other job? My job does leave me with very less time for myself. But on and off as I get a good opportunity, I do share the screen. In October 2013, I played the role of Liaquat Ali, 1st PM of Pakistan in Mr. Shyam Benegal's 10 part series, Samvidhaan. I am looking forward to coming back on screen with some interesting roles. Take us through your early days and beginning in the industry… I started as a child artist in 1971 in the movie, Upasana starring Feroz Khan, Sanjay Khan, Helen, Mumtaz. Then, I did theatre in school and college. Deepak Tijori, Ashutosh Gowariker, Aamir Khan, Paresh Rawal, Vipul Shah, Aatish Kapadia, Makarand Deshpande and many of us in college entered Bollywood and theatre. I got professionally trained in Gujarati and Hindi Theatre. I was 23 when my parents passed away, therefore, due to circumstances I had to shift my focus from acting to running the business my father had left for me. But as we commonly use the phrase ‘acting ka keeda’ wapas kaatne laga, so, in the late 1980’s I decided to get back to acting with the movie Kaafila with Juhi Chawla, Paresh Rawal, Amol Gupte. Which do you think has been your best work till date as an actor? I loved working for the show- Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye which aired on Sony TV in 2001. After a long time post that, I thoroughly enjoyed doing Punar Vivah on Zee TV. As the Operations Head, explain your work profile… As the Head of Operations at Shashi Sumeet Productions, I have to manage and oversee the entire operations and management of administrative affairs of the company. Being from the acting fraternity, do you think it is easier for you to carry forward the administrative affairs of the company? Both the jobs require different skill sets. But because I am an actor too, I know and share a good rapport with all the cast and crew members, everyone like the Directors, Actors, DOPs, sound guys, editors, etc. and I have been friends from long time. So it is easy to work with everyone off the screen too. How has it been working with Producers Shashi and Sumeet? You have earlier worked for them as an actor too. I worked as an actor with Shashi Sumeet Productions in Punar Vivah. I have a beautiful relationship with them and everyone associated with this company. The work culture is nice and healthy and conducive to every employee at SSP. Shashi and Sumeet in person are beautiful people. They are quite culturally grounded. At the same time they encourage ideas and flexibility in the company. The production has ace shows like Diya Aur Baati Hum, Tumhari Paakhi on air. How does it feel to cross milestones? It’s a great achievement. I handled Tumhari Paakhi till its 200 episodes. It feels great. Do you involve yourself in the casting process too? No I do not. When will we see you on-screen as actor again? Yes, soon. What are your long term goals? We at SSP are expanding to Motion Pictures, Advt, Events. We started this year with the release of the Marathi movie Rangkarmi. I am enthusiastic about all the upcoming projects in pipeline. Who has been your inspiration at work? Both Shashi and Sumeet are very creative individuals. In TV industry if one sees, they broke the stereotype genre of a typical saas bahu trend and brought the concept of woman remarriage in Punar Vivah and encouraging girl education and professional independence in Diya Aur Baati Hum. They have a very liberal thought process and they know how to deliver it to the masses targeted.