Acting in her blood

The dark skies open up as one walks up to Saiyami Kher's third-floor apartment in Mumbai's Khar suburb. It's 11am but it could be 7pm. Inside the tastefully decorated home of the actor, who makes her Bollywood debut in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Mirzya, a warm welcome awaits.

Saiyami's mother, model and 1982 Femina Miss India, Uttara Mhatre-Kher, ushers us in. Even as her offer for chai is delightfully accepted, Saiyami, the youngest Kher in the family, who people can't stop gushing about ever since the Mirzya trailer released last week, comes to fetch us. Dressed in denim shorts and a black singlet, her hair held up in a gravity-defying bun, Saiyami's grey eyes and pronounced cheek bones are an immediate throwback to Tanvi Azmi in Vijaya Mehta's Rao Saheb (1985) – Azmi being her father's sister.

Saiyami giggles at the comparison as we settle down in the spartan room with glass walls and wooden flooring. "Every time someone says that and I tell my aunt, she indulgently says no. According to her, I should be my own person and work on my looks and voice to create my identity."

Her young shoulders don't give away what it must feel like to bear the burden of being the legatee of so much talent. This 24-year-old daughter of '80s model Adwait Kher is after all the granddaughter of the late Usha Kiran (known for her roles in iconic films of Daag and Chupke Chupke from the early-50s to mid-70s). Since Saiyami's aunt Tanvi (Saunhita Kher) is married to cinematographer Baba Azmi, she's also related to the Azmi-Akhtar family.

"Tanvi atya calls me her dewdrop, but never holds back on scolding me for something she thinks I'm not doing right." She is also super close to Shabana Azmi who she calls maasi. "She is very indulgent and often gives me tips on how to approach a character. She is very protective and always looks out for me."

The first question is about Mirzya, a take on the epic story of Mirza and Sahibaan, slated for an early October release. How much did her pedigree help in bagging the lead opposite Anil Kapoor's son, Harshvardhan, in his Bollywood debut?

"My elder sister, Saunskruti and I have been kept rooted and made to struggle to find our way. While they are there as and when we need them, we have been encouraged to go out and explore opportunities on our own right from the very beginning," she points out. "Like all strugglers, I'd also go for several auditions everyday. It was through the process of hundreds of rounds of elimination that I finally got the role in Mirzya."

She remembers how furious "Shabana maasi" was when she found out Saiyami was in Delhi in the final stage of selection. "She wanted to know why I didn't tell her before. When she heard it was a Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra film, she was very happy and encouraged me to give it my best."

Though the Kingfisher calendar girl, who apart from modelling for Levis, Pantaloons, L'Oreal and Idee eyewear, has also acted in the Telugu film Rey (2015) opposite Sai Dharam Tej, she says her 'model parents' were very clear about keeping their daughters far from the world of glamour.

"My parents shifted to Nashik and raised us there. We weren't even allowed to watch films till our Class 10. Once we were a bit older, we helped our parents in the three restaurants they ran." Almost on cue, her mom arrives with a tray bearing chai and samosas. Saiyami effortlessly gets the door with one hand holding the laden tray in the other. "See how waiting tables has helped," she laughs.

The first time she was approached for a role was at a family get together. "Zoya (Akhtar) wanted me to act in Luck By Chance. I was in Class 9 and simply baulked at the idea."

It was only later when she began pursuing history at St Xavier's College, Mumbai, that the pull of the beckoning arc lights became too strong to ignore. "I then began modelling. The Kingfisher calendar happened and I began working with Atul Kasbekar and things began to happen one after the other."

To this day, she says she regrets not flunking in college. "Xavier's has been the best thing that has happened to me. It helped me find my bearings and come into my own. I wish I was there for longer."

College also nurtured in her a love for theatre. "I have often done workshops with theatre groups of senior theatrepersons like Nadira Babbar. I hope I will find an opportunity to do theatre some day."

Till then Sahibaan awaits the release of Mirzya and for Mani Ratnam's as-yet-untitled Tamil-Telugu bilingual that she signed last October.