Bowled over

The discipline Saiyami Kher learnt as a sportsperson made her survive disappointment in films

- PUJA AWASTHI

There were two bits of advice that Saiyami Kher received as she was starting her movie career. One: don’t be opinionated. Two: do not talk too much about sports. In a country where celebrities are routinely pilloried for their opinions, the first was understandable. The second, not so much, especially for someone who had always had sports as a way of life.

“I was told too much talk of sports would go against the image of a typical heroine—who is supposed to be pretty and dainty. I am alright with taking about beauty and fashion, but I don’t get why I should kill the voice in my heart,” said Kher.

In her latest screen outing with Abhishek Bachchan, Ghoomer, Kher plays a bowler. The unkindest of critics have said that there are no flaws in her cricketing technique—at least, not visible to non-cricketers.

That precision was achieved with months of discipline. Almost as soon as the film was locked, Kher started to use her left hand for everyday tasks such as brushing her teeth and combing her hair. “It became second nature to me,” said Kher, who once played against Saina Nehwal in the junior nationals in the middle of the 2000s. Kher was under 16, Nehwal under 19. She still laughs at the memory of the drubbing she got at Nehwal’s hands.

Before the filming for Ghoomer began, Murali Karthik—the left-arm slow, orthodox bowler— was brought in to check on Kher’s technique. He required barely a couple of days to give her the go-ahead.