'It's A Tough Place To Be': Saiyami Kher Opens Up About Completing 10 Years In The Film Industry
· Free Press Journal
Actress Saiyami Kher’s Bollywood debut film Mirzya released on October 7, 2016, marking 10 years that she has spent in the industry now. However, sports has also been an active part of her life, with her recently completing her third Ironman, being the only actress from the Hindi film industry to complete the grueling 70.3 km Triathlon.
The Free Press Journal caught up with her over a phone call for an exclusive chat, talking about her journey in the film industry, the painful periods in her life and more.
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How does it feel to complete a decade in the film industry?
It feels pretty severe because it seems like it’s not been a decade and it’s been a year since I started shooting a film. Time is very strange. I feel extremely grateful that I’ve survived this place. It's a tough place to be. And I’m very proud and very grateful that I’ve had people who backed me and who believed in me and made this journey so beautiful.
What kind of struggles you went through and what kind of advice you were given to overcome any difficulties that you faced?
Acting, I feel is the most beautiful career choice I feel I made because every film I do, I make a new family, we travel so much. You meet so many different people. So I feel that I’m very blessed to be doing what I'm doing. With regards to challenges in acting, no matter how hard you work, the results are never in your hand. And you just need to learn to enjoy the journey, which I have in the in the past 10 years because I’ve been very fortunate that I've worked with people like R Balki, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Anurag Kashyap... The challenge though is in between films. When you finish a film and you don’t know what you’re doing next and you’re just waiting around. For me, that’s the most painful part of being an actor.
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It happens constantly because you don't know when your film is going to release. After Mirzya, I didn’t know what my next project was for almost a year and a half. That’s when I started running marathons because I wanted the sense of focus. I became an endurance athlete after its release.
How did you prepare for the grueling Ironman Triathlon?
It’s my third year now. I've been consistently working very hard. I had my first full marathon 10 years ago. So I feel like the secret is consistency. You need to just keep putting in the work.
Did you ever take any advice from your aunt Shabana Azmi?
Shabana maasi is somebody who's an inspiration to anyone who wants to be an actor for the body of work she comes with. And I've been extremely fortunate that I got to work with her in Ghoomer (2023). She's always been very kind but I in fact used to go to her mother (Shaukat Azmi) who was a very respected actor herself. I used to read Hindi and Urdu with her. I was extremely close to her which I cherish a lot.