Saiyami Kher: Any A-list star would jump at this role

Elated at the praise coming her way for Ghoomer, Saiyami lauds director Balki’s courage for choosing her to lead the sports drama

Almost five years ago when Ghoomer was merely an idea brewing in R Balki’s head, he saw Saiyami Kher playing cricket. Instantly, she became the director’s choice for the film. The actor, however, reveals she didn’t take him seriously at the time. “When all of it came together later, I [couldn’t express my joy] because I was scared. I felt it was a difficult role,” says Kher, who is winning praise for her portrayal of a differently-abled athlete in the Abhishek Bachchan and Shabana Azmi-starrer.

What makes the appreciation sweeter is the director’s faith in her. “It’s Balki’s courage to back me on this because any A-list heroine would jump at this role,” she says. The cherry on top is the praise she received from megastar Amitabh Bachchan. “I received a letter of appreciation from him, which meant the world to me.” 
In her seven-year Bollywood career that began with Mirzya (2016), adulation has come only recently. She credits Anurag Kashyap’s Choked (2020) for changing the course of her career. “Once I told Rakeysh [Omprakash Mehra] sir, ‘I thought I did a lot in this scene, but it doesn’t show on screen.’ Sometimes, it takes you time to evolve. I was as honest in Mirzya as I was in Ghoomer, but time makes you a better actor as you get life experience.” 

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