In the first two seasons of HBO’s Industry, we’ve known Rishi Ramdani, played by Sagar Radia, as a mid-level trader at Pierpoint whose foul-mouth comments constantly push the workplace boundaries. Industry is a high-intensity drama that never takes its foot off the gas, and in some ways, Rishi’s absurd quips, high-strung attitude, and crude language have brought levity to the show. Season three of Industry gives a closer look at Rishi’s world in an episode that focuses entirely on the character.
The fourth episode of the seaeson, which airs on Sept. 1, follows Rishi through a particularly intense and chaotic day, showing what makes him tick—other than his high-stakes job of dealing in large sums of money.
Radia tells TIME that he’s seen an innate confidence grow in Rishi as his character changes throughout the series. He was surprised when he learned he’d be leading an episode but felt ready for the challenge. “Once you get a script like that, you’re like, ‘Cool, let’s get to work,’” he says.
Titled “White Mischief,” the episode begins with Pierpoint’s credibility being sent into a tailspin after the disastrous ESG conference in the previous episode and the implosion of Lumi. Rishi joins his coworkers to discuss what to do next and suggests a trade that’s a huge risk but still seems to find support among the team. Then, Rishi is with his wife, his in-laws and their new baby, celebrating Boxing Day. But things aren’t going well for him: while Rishi is watching a video on his phone he gets a notification alerting him to a declined payment. His nose starts to bleed—signaling stress and that he may be overdoing it on drugs.
Later, Rishi and his wife are home when they hear a knock at the door. A guy named Vinay is looking for him because Rishi owes him a lot of money. Over the course of the episode, we learn that Rishi is in ₤200,000 of gambling debt and that’s why he pushed the “high risk, high reward, mega bullish” trade at Pierpoint. And at work, HR is after him about his uncensored language, while MD on the CPS desk Eric Tao (Ken Leung) is increasing his warnings about the high-risk trade.
Radia says filming the episode was difficult, not only because of the intensity and physicality of the scenes, but because the episode was shot out of sequence (which is typical of most professional productions). He leaned on the director, Zoé Wittock, to make sure they hit the emotional beats they both were hoping for. He also gives credit to the creators Konrad Kay and Mickey Down for fostering a collaborative work environment that allowed for more ease to figure out the right rhythm they wanted to hit. One of the first scenes they filmed appears towards the end of the episode and Radia says, “When you’re trying to drop yourself into an emotional situation like this on day one, if something’s not working, you’re not like beating yourself up about it.” He continues, “They’re just like, ‘We’ll find it, let’s go again.”
Though Rishi is firm in his hunch about the trade, his anger and anxiety are spiraling out of control. He storms out of Pierpoint to meet Vinay, who has a “friend” in the car with him as he tells Rishi he needs to pay the debt. Vinay asks what everyone is thinking: “How are you in finance and you’re so broke?”
Vinay seems to take some pity on Rishi, even offering him extra cash. But Rishi declines and takes the money he should have given to Vinay and gambles. He wins big, gets a section at a club, gets into a fight, gambles more, and loses everything.
Things get worse—at Pierpoint, another meeting is called about anonymously reported concerns over Rishi’s language. He is at a low point, with a battered face, black eye, and a bruised ego, and pleading for support from Anraj, who is afraid of him. Thankfully, the risky trade ends up being the right move—Rishi rakes in millions of pounds.
Toward the end of the episode, we see Rishi and his wife, Diana, getting into a screaming match. He finally reveals how much debt he’s in and Diana agrees to bail him out using money she’s made from her job, and sticks by his side. He calls Vinay and tells him he has his money, but continues to gamble with his money and his life.
This moment, Radia says, was the toughest to get through. It’s a culmination of all the issues that Rishi has been facing up until now, he says, noting an affecting line from Diana: “It’s much easier to raise strong boys than fix broken men.”
“Rishi’s been through this whole thing and she says that and he has to sit with it,” he says. “He starts to question his morality and he starts to question the type of man he wants to be now.”
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