Sahher Bambba: Dharamji advised me to be like sponge

By Ahana Bhattacharya

Mumbai, Sep 16 (IANS) Sahher Bambba is Bollywoods latest debutant, taking a bow with Sunny Deols "Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas", alongside his son Karan Deol. The newcomer reveals being both nervous and excited ahead of the release of her debut film, and feels she is fortunate to have got a chance to work in the film.

Exactly how and when did the thought of becoming an actor crop up on her mind? Sahher shared: "I am born and brought up in Shimla. I was that kind of a kid who would perform in the living room and everybody would clap for me and I'd love the attention. My love for films started with dancing to the songs of quintessential Hindi films. After that, I went to a boarding school in Kasauli and led a very protected life. But I wanted to become an actor. So, I decided that I have to go to Mumbai for my college no matter what and convinced my parents. Initially, they didn't agree and were insisting that I go to Delhi for higher education but finally, they gave in."

The 20-year-old who has studied in Mumbai's Jai Hind College, said: "When I came here, the struggle started. I lived in a hostel where eight girls including me would stay in a room...I wanted to get into acting but didn't know how would I go about it. Every day I would sit in the train from Churchgate and come to the city to give auditions for commercials etc but nothing was working out...After some time, I participated in a beauty pageant and happened to win that. After that, I got a call from the casting director of this film. There were a couple of rounds of auditions and after a month, I was informed that I was finalised!"

At the time of the audition, Sahher claims, she was not aware that 400 girls were in contention for the role. "I got to know this later. It's a very surreal feeling. It's a very humbling feeling because I really did not expect to be selected. I am very fortunate to have got this opportunity", she said.

Although Sahher has got her break in Bollywood, there are many youngsters coming from a non-film background who struggle to find their feet. Talking about the same, the actress said: "I am sure it is not easy because for the past two years, I haven't really been in the inner circles of the industry. So, I don't know what to expect!"

Sahher is happy that she got to meet Bollywood superstar Dharmendra for the film and described him as a "sweet" person. She said: "I met Dharamji for the first time in Khandala, where a meeting was arranged for a script reading session. I remember he was watching a cute video of a monkey and its baby and also showed it to us. He is such a nice human being that it reflects from his face. He always has a positive vibe and is very energetic. He is very sweet. After that I met him on the set when we were shooting in Delhi", said the debutant, adding, "He has advised me to be like a sponge, observe people around me and take in as much as possible. He also asked me to keep working hard every day if I want to survive in the industry. He has also shared stories from his career, which have been a learning experience for me."

Although Sahher describes Dharmendra as "sweet", his son and the director of the film Sunny Deol is a "hard taskmaster". Talking about Sunny Deol, she said: "Sunny sir is a hard taskmaster on the sets. If he wants something, he will get it. Maybe he will come back the next day and shoot it but he will not settle for anything less."

At the same time, she describes Sunny Deol as a "patient and kind" person. She said: "Because I don't have any formal training or experience in acting, and didn't even know the meaning of basic terms like 'stand on your mark', so he has been very patient and kind to me."

The romantic drama "Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas" is directed by Sunny Deol and stars debutants Karan Deol and Sahher Bambba. The film is all set to hit theatres on September 20.