Saiyami Kher shared this image. (courtesy saiyami)

New Delhi:

A post from actress Saiyami Kher – “long overdue,” as she writes – is both a thank you for filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and a bittersweet note on how the film industry defines worth. Saiyami stars in the critically-acclaimed Choked, Anurag Kashyap’s latest film; her own performance has been singled out for praise. Just a few years ago, though, Saiyami was largely ignored after the poor performance of her debut film Mirzya in 2016. Cut to now, and the touchstone of success has completely changed how the industry treats Saiyami Kher, as it does.

Saiyami addresses this in her post: “Today when the people who dismissed me three years ago call up lauding my performance, there’s no one happier and prouder than AK. Thank you for believing in me Anurag Kashyap. Thank you for making me believe in myself.”

Saiyami Kher’s words about her Choked director are a testimonial, written most tenderly. Anurag Kashyap has something of a reputation – Saiyami Kher calls him the “Bad Boy of Bollywood” – but she found that his life, instead of being “riddled with drugs, women and vices,” was quite the opposite. At Anurag’s home (his invitation to her was prefaced with “My parents live with me, you don’t have to worry”), Saiyami found “A typical chaotic Indian household” with a hunt for the newspaper, the doorbell ringing, Anurag’s mother cooking.

Saiyami Kher writes of the Anurag Kashyap she knows: “With him you know you get the whole truth. When he loves your work, he jumps, dances, cries and expresses joy; if he doesn’t, he just says it. The man has no filters. That is perhaps both his boon and his bane.” She also writes of his love of whiskey and open-heartedness: “He’s so busy playing agony aunt in other people’s lives that perhaps, he forgets about his own.”

Read Saiyami Kher’s post here:

This one is long overdue & very long! The first time I met AK he asked me to come to his Versova house. Before I could say anything, he said, “My parents live with me. You don’t have to worry!”. He was supposed to be the “Bad Boy of Bollywood”. His life according to the outside world was “riddled with drugs, women & vices.” The truth, I later learnt, was COMPLETELY the opposite. It was a typical chaotic Indian household. Parents looking for a newspaper, the doorbell constantly ringing, Shrilalji furiously cooking for the increasing guests, a cat strutting around & AK looking for just one quiet corner in his own home. From the time he offered me Choked (sitting next to me at MAMI) to the date of release, it took three years. That’s when I really got to know the man. He became a friend, mentor & sounding board. With him you know you get the whole truth. When he loves your work he jumps, dances, cries & expresses joy; if he doesn’t he just says it. The man has no filters. That is perhaps both his boon & his bane. He loves his whiskey; which I keep nagging him to reduce (instead increase his exercise!). He has a child-like innocence & open-heartedness that is seldom seen in today’s times. He’s so busy playing agony aunt in other people’s lives that perhaps, he forgets about his own. That’s AK for you. It’s always other people before himself. It’s rare to have people through your difficulties. It’s even rarer to have people who truly feel happy for you. Today, when the people who dismissed me three years ago call up lauding my performance, there’s no one happier & prouder than AK. Thank you for believing in me @anuragkashyap10 Thank you for making me believe in myself again!

A post shared by Saiyami Kher (@saiyami) on Jun 21, 2020 at 10:33pm PDT

Anurag Kashyap left a comment – “Girl you don’t make a man senti like this.”

Screenshot of Anurag Kashyap’s comment on Saiyami Kher’s post.

In Choked, Saiyami Kher plays Sarita Pillai, a middle-class wife and mother struggling to make ends meet as the main breadwinner of her family. Her life changes when she finds bundles of cash clogging her kitchen sink – it changes yet again with the notes ban of 2016. Choked has received glowing reviews; NDTV’s Saibal Chatterjee gave it 4 stars.

As Sarita, Saiyami is unrecognisable from Mirzya‘s Suchitra, engaged to a prince and in love with the man training her in horse riding. “No one imagined me to carry off this non-glamorous avatar where people would, for some strange reason, imagine in awkward item numbers. That’s really not the person I am. Anurag Kashyap backed me on the film when people said why are you taking this one. He backed me when there were big names saying, they wanted to work with him. What I really admire about him is that once he gives his word, he will stick to it, which is rare in this industry,” Saiyami Kher told news agency PTI.