Mi Marathi

Saiyami Kher

What ties two people with dramatically different ambitions and ideologies in life? Love, believes director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, as she presents a romantic drama in Faadu - A Love Story. In the SonyLIV series, Saiyami Kher plays the calm Manjiri to Pavail Gulati's impatient Abhay who wants to strike it rich. What makes the role all the more special to her is that it took her back to her Maharashtrian roots.

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Kher, granddaughter to the late Usha Kiran, says, "My Maharashtrian lineage was an inspiration for my role. Since Marathi is my mother tongue, adding my own flavour to the character wasn't tough. The way she talks, and her mannerisms came from my observation of my family."

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Kher recalls her first meeting with Iyer after the filmmaker had liked her audition. It took only a glimpse for the director to know that she had found her Manjiri. "I was at my farmhouse when we had our meeting over a Zoom call. Ashwiny ma'am said this is exactly who Manjiri is." As part of her prep, Kher brushed up on Marathi literature. "I read a lot of poetry and listened to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi ji's music, besides doing the usual [character] prep."