Saiyami Kher played the character of Sarita in Netflix series Choked. (Photo: Saiyami Kher/Instagram)
Saiyami Kher, who was recently seen in Netflix film Choked, went LIVE on The Indian Express’ Facebook page. The actor spoke about her film, how she bagged the role and how the digital platform has changed the game.
Excerpts from the interaction:
How was it playing Sarita in Choked? How did the project come to you?
I was sitting alone and watching films at MAMI one year and Anurag sir happened to sit next to me and he asked me if I would like to do a film. He sent across the script to me, and I loved it. This was in 2017. After that it took him some time to make it because he was busy with Sacred Games and Manmarziyaan.
It has been very overwhelming playing Sarita in Choked. Not many people would have imagined me playing Sarita, especially after Mirziya.
How do you look at the web space after delivering two hits on the OTT platforms – Special Ops and now Choked?
Web space or not, whenever your work is being appreciated, it feels very good. Special Ops and Choked have received the kind of response that I wasn’t really expecting. It was such an overwhelming response. I am glad that the web space has opened up avenues for actors like me who were probably not getting backed by big producers of big filmmakers. I do hope we have Special Ops 2 and you’ll enjoy that as well.
What is Anurag Kashyap’s process, how does he approach and train actors to create such realistic characters?
Anurag sir’s style of working is very different. He does not believe in preparing, he does not believe in rehearsals, everything is impromptu. He didn’t even like us reading the script. It was great fun to work with actors like Roshan (Mathew) and Amruta Subhash.
The great thing about Anurag Kashyap is that he is not egoistic at all, he used to tell us how actors make everything very complex and that we should keep it simple. That it is not a big deal and we would figure out things once we show up on set. He is always open to suggestions, so even if there was something that we didn’t agree with, we could tell him that. He has a clear idea of how to get performances out of people. I really hope I get to work with him in the future soon.
What can you tell us about your upcoming projects?
I have shot for Amazon Prime Video’s Breathe 2. The first season had R Madhavan and Amit (Sadh) and I really enjoyed watching it. It is directed by Mayank Sharma. We have the second season where I am starring opposite Abhishek Bachchan. This is Abhishek’s digital debut.
I have also done a Telugu film with Nagarjuna where I am playing a RAW officer and I have had a lot of action to do, so I am very excited for that, we still have a little bit of shooting left so we will be doing it when we can get back to work.