Saiyami Kher receives Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Award for her role in Mirzya

Actress Saiyami Kher, who made her Bollywood debut in Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra’s film Mirzya, received the best debut award at the Dasaheb Phalke Excellence Awards 2017.

Saiyami was feted with the award on Friday night.

After receiving the award the, she said: “Dadasaheb Phalke belonged to my hometown, Nashik. I’ve grown up knowing what immense contribution he has had to Indian cinema. It’s such an honour to have received an award from the Dadasaheb Phalke foundation.”

The actress starred in Mirzya opposite veteran actor Anil Kapoor’s son Harshvardhan Kapoor. The event was graced by many personalities including Zeenat Aman, Hema Malini, Javed Akhtar and Divya Khosla.

Sayami Kher is the granddaughter of actor Usha Kiran, and niece of Tanvi and Shabana Azmi, despite hailing from one of the



privileged families of the Bollywood industry, she grew way away from the limelight. Her father, Adwait Kher had once been a model and mother Uttara Mhatre, had once become Miss India. Despite such glamorous background she still had a middle-class upbringing in a small town.

“They wanted to keep us away from the film industry. What they succeeded in doing was to make sure we were level-headed and aware that the film world is just one part of a much bigger world,” Saiyami Kher said in an interview previously.

Before Bollywood, Saiyami Kher had also worked in Telugu film Rey. In her first movie in Bollywood, Saiyami Kher played the role of Soochi and Sahiban.

Sonam Kapoor’s brother, Harshvardhan Kapoor, had also made his debut in the film industry in Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra’s movie.