21 July,2024 04:27 PM IST | Mumbai | Athulya Nambiar
Saiyami Kher
Bollywood actress Saiyami Kher made her debut in the Hindi film âMirzya' opposite Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor. The film directed by the famed Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra was promoted as the launchpad of Anil Kapoor's son. The 2016 fantasy romantic film, however, failed to impress the audience and tanked at the box office. Talking to mid-day.com, Saiyami spoke about the impact of the film's failure on her career and how it made her realise the importance of box office success for a film.
"There is a dialogue in Zoya (Akhtar)'s film. Your first film chooses you don't choose it. So I was very lucky to be rejected everyday before âMirzya'. Rakeysh sir told me that this isn't the quintessential commercial film. When I was signing the contract, he asked 'are you sure you want to do?" Saiyami said recalling the beginning of her acting career.
She further said, "He was always someone who did something new and different and something that is challenging. So my learning and grooming has been under Rakeysh Mehra where you have to push yourself and try to do something new. It was touted to be this big launchpad of Harsh Varrdhan and there was hype around it. Unfortunately, it didn't make the money. That's when I realized how important it is for your films to make money. Because then you don't get the kind of work you are offered when the hype is around you. So I faced that."
Elaborating on the same, she said, "I had signed two films and they did not answer my or my manager's calls (after Mirzya release). The films went to someone else. I get that part of it. I always knew it was a tough place to survive and it has been very tough but I have survived. Every time, I have doubted myself and felt that I am not cut out for this, I have had makers like Anurag Kashyap, Neeraj Pandey and R Balki who have backed me."
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"But recently when I have the opportunity to choose roles, I listen to the script and if my heart feels good about it I do it. It's not like I have 10 roles to choose from . The opportunities coming are not as many as I'd like to be. So I have to still choose from the little pool I have," she added.
Saiyami was last seen in the film 'Sharmajee Ki Beti' directed by Tahira Kashyap Khurrana co-starring Divya Dutta and Sakshi Tanwar.
