A decade after making her Bollywood debut with Mirzya, Saiyami Kher has taken a deeply personal walk down memory lane, looking back at the experiences, people and lessons that shaped her journey in the film industry. The actress shared an emotional video montage featuring moments from the Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra directorial, along with a long note that traces her journey from being a reserved newcomer from Nashik to finding her place as an actor. Her words are as much about Mirzya as they are about everything she discovered about herself over the last 10 years.
Reflecting on the milestone, Saiyami wrote, “A decade since Mirzya. A decade of some of the most life altering experiences of my life. “I was a reserved, introverted 20 something from Nashik, with no exposure to films. I was written off before I had even begun. Called a “villager”, told I didn’t have it in me, and given advice like, “Date an actor/director, that’s the easier way in.” “Get a lip job.” Thankfully, my upbringing and my parents gave me enough security in myself to find humour in all of it. Rejection became almost a daily ritual. Until one morning, when Dilip Shankar auditioned me. Something felt different. Three months of workshopping with Dilipji & @_AdilHussain changed me completely. They taught me to be myself, find truth in my work, and trust that being myself was enough. Six months later, I was locked for Rakeysh OmprakashMehra’s Mirzya.”
“Suddenly, I was in all the headlines. Some of the people who had told me I didn’t have it in me messaged saying they “always knew I would make it.” Rakeysh sir was everything I had unknowingly been seeking. A beautiful human being and a dream to work with. He gave me the freedom to be myself, made me fall in love with acting, and taught me little life lessons every day. And then there is Gulzar saab. He wrote Mirzya, but over these 10 years, he has given me so much more than words. He is an ocean of knowledge and wisdom, and I could sit beside that ocean for hours. My family and friends had my back and reminded me there is a whole life outside the frame. Maybe that is what these 10 years have really been about..the people, the lessons, the moments that stay long after the lights go off. I’ve spent these years seeking the good. Good people. Good stories. Good work. Good energy. I know I have a long way to go. There is still so much to learn and explore. And that excites me. I still feel the same hunger and nervous excitement I felt on my first day of shoot. Here’s to showing up, on and off camera. To being an endurance athlete in both worlds. One kilometre at a time. Here’s to the road ahead. Here’s to the next 10” wrote Saiyami.
Saiyami’s reflection also shines a light on how unpredictable a debut can be, particularly when an actor enters the industry without an established film background. Before Mirzya, she describes herself as an introverted young woman from Nashik with little exposure to films, who faced rejection even before getting the opportunity to prove herself. What eventually changed the course of her journey was an audition with Dilip Shankar, followed by three months of workshops with Shankar and Adil Hussain. Those sessions, according to Saiyami, helped her discover the importance of authenticity and trusting her own instincts as a performer.
The turning point came when she was selected for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirzya. Suddenly, the newcomer who had been dismissed by some found herself in the headlines. Saiyami’s memories of the film are particularly warm when she speaks about Mehra, describing him as the person she had unknowingly been looking for as a mentor. She credits his freedom and encouragement with helping her fall in love with acting. She also reserves special affection for Gulzar, who wrote the film and, in her words, has given her far more than words over the decade. Her description of him as an “ocean of knowledge and wisdom” captures the lasting influence he has had on her.
Released in 2016, Mirzya was a romantic fantasy directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and inspired by the Punjabi folklore of Mirza-Sahiban. The film starred Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher in the lead roles, with Anuj Choudhry, Om Puri, Art Malik, K. K. Raina and Anjali Patil in supporting roles. Produced by Cinestaan Film Company and Mehra’s ROM Pictures, the film remains an important starting point in Saiyami’s career, not simply because it introduced her to Bollywood audiences, but because of the personal transformation she associates with the experience.
A decade later, Saiyami’s focus appears to be less on proving the people who doubted her wrong and more on the road still ahead. Her note repeatedly returns to people, learning, good work and the importance of finding the positive even through difficult experiences. The video montage, bringing together emotional moments from Mirzya with Harshvardhan Kapoor and Gulzar, adds another layer to the reflection. And as she looks towards the next decade, her message is clear: the hunger remains, the curiosity remains, and she is still willing to take the journey one kilometre at a time.
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