Dietland’s Ami Sheth Says She Hopes the Show ‘Gets People Talking’ [Exclusive Interview]

With film and TV success in both the United States and India, Ami Sheth can now be seen on one of the summer’s newest dramas, Dietland, airing on AMC.

Sheth plays the role of Sana, an acid attack survivor who comes important to Plum on the darkly funny series. I recently had the chance to speak with Sheth about her character, the show’s significant themes, and more.

“I loved the character of Sana. She is an artist. She helps women. She lives in Calliope House, which is a home for women who have had hardships, and she’s also an acid attack survivor, which is very interesting. She just doesn’t fit into the standards of beauty that you would expect. And I got to do tons of prosthetic work which I had never gotten to do before. That was really exciting for me, and to be in this cast with all of these amazing women, and we have all women directors — this is a lot of firsts,” Sheth said.

That prosthetic work, however, presented some new challenges for Sheth on set.

“The prosthetic work did take in the beginning up to two hours a day, so that was a big challenge,” she said. “And because of the nature of the prosthetic work, I couldn’t hear out of my left ear because it covers my ear. I also wear a contact in my left eye that is like a cloudy, opaque, so I couldn’t see much out of that eye.”

If you’ve been watching Dietland, you know the show isn’t holding back when it comes to tackling tough topics. For Sheth, she hopes that presenting those topics in this way will get people talking.

“[Dietland] talks about a lot of really important issues that are not necessarily brought up in a lot of other TV shows, whether it be talking about the standards of beauty for women, or talking about rape culture, or talking the glass ceiling. It touches on race and being a woman — it touches on all these really important issues — but it does it in a really fun, and dark, and fantastical kind of way. So it doesn’t take itself too seriously. I hope that it just gets people talking about these important issues. If the show does that, then we’ve done its job.”

Sheth noted that the character of Sana “follows the book closely in that she becomes very important mid-season.” We can expect to see more of her character starting with the upcoming episode, Dietland Season 1 Episode, 5, “Plum Tuckered.”

Sana will begin revealing more about herself with Plum, and that will begin a great friendship between them.

“In her opening up about things that happened to her, Plum also opens up, and they have a great, unlikely friendship that starts to build. They’re both outcasts as far as beauty standards are concerned,” Sheth explained.

“Sana had this experience many years ago, and she’s kind of dealt with her issues about who she is in a lot of ways. Plum just starts doing that in Season 1, and so they rely on each other a lot through that process of self-learning.”

That theme of women supporting one another is a significant one in the show.

“I think this is a really great time for being a woman, and women are speaking up, and they’re supporting each other and they’re not taking things lying down anymore,” Sheth said. “That’s why a show like this is actually highlighting that and is important. And even working with everyone in the cast, working with all these amazing women, everyone’s super supportive, and it was just a really great place to be.”

As for what we can expect from the remainder of the season, Sheth said it will become “more and more interesting,” darker, and “more fantastical.”

“You’re gonna be at the edge of your seat,” she hinted. “It’s gonna get really exciting.”

Finally, Sheth talked a bit about the importance of television overall as well as one of her current favorite shows.

“TV, in general, has always had an impact on me,” Sheth said. “TV’s the one thing that came into your home and felt like part of your family. You would go to school, and you would talk to your friends about, ‘Did you see this show? Did you see that show?‘ I think TV really has an amazing way of bringing people together because it comes into your home, and there’s something very intimate about that.”

The one show Sheth said she’s loving right now? The Handmaid’s Tale.

“It’s so powerful, and beautiful visually, and the storytelling is amazing,” Sheth said. “In the same vein as Dietland [it’s also] pushing on a lot of really tough subjects, and you do get invested in these people and in their lives.”

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Be sure to catch Ami Sheth on Dietland, airing Mondays at 9/8c on AMC.

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