From screen to finish line: Saiyami Kher’s unstoppable journey in Ironman 70.3 Triathlon

It's been such a long dream, that I was relieved when I finished! The race itself had constant challenges, it felt like there were these constant hurdles and just pretty much every course trying to not let me do it, like my flight getting canceled, my luggage getting lost, then on the cycle route, I was misdirected. At one point, I thought I was disqualified. But thankfully, I picked up the bike and went back running to the route, and then I realised I was still in the race. Hence for me, it was a battle, not only against me, but just a lot of hurdles that kept coming my way. So it was just immense feeling of pride when I managed to finish the race.

I started running as a way to find balance and positivity in my life. When you live in a city like Mumbai, pursue a career like acting, there is a lot of negativity that you’re surrounded by. And for me, endurance sport was always a way to find a balance in my life, and get me in a positive frame of mind. In fact, that’s how I started running marathons. And Ironman is something I have aspired to do ever since I heard about it as a child. Of course, people say funny things like — when you hit midlife crisis is when you start doing Triathlon. But I have been telling my parents that I could clearly never hit midlife crisis in my 30s! For me, the fitness and the physical aspect of the Triathlon is secondary; what is most important is that endurance sport makes me a much stronger and a more confident person. I find solace when I do endurance sports, because it pushes me to the absolute limit, physically and mentally. It’s about me battling my demons and overcoming them, which help me in a big way in life (in general), as well as in making career choices.

I started from ground zero because I had a bike accident eight months before I signed up for the race. I was in Italy cycling, and I lost my grip… I had to get some stitches after that. The accident, however, had not turned me off; but personally and professionally, I was in a very low space. It was then that I told myself that I need to take charge of my life; I can't constantly be feeling pity for myself and being in this low phase. So my way to get out of it was signing up for the Ironman. But I was in good physical shape, because I couldn’t run beyond three kilometers! I wasn’t cycling or swimming much either. I mean I am a swimmer, but I had never done endurance swimming. However, I focused on just taking that one step ahead of me every day, and not thinking about scaling the peak. Of course, throughout my training, I was also working on my acting projects. When you’re shooting for films, things can be extremely erratic. You shoot for 14 hours! I was shooting in a small village near Vijayawada where there was no infrastructure for nearly anything. Moreover, I was doing an action film, so physically, I was any way tired. But just to mentally push myself, I used to wake up at 3.45 in the morning to train before I left for the shoot. It was a commitment which required some serious amount of dedication to just wake up!

I definitely, at no point want to take a break from films because I genuinely, truly love being on a film set, and I want to grab as many opportunities that come my way. I really value them. I have been in a place in my career when these opportunities haven’t come my way, and I know what that feels like. So, I most definitely don’t want to take a break. Maybe some point in my career when I feel that I’m not doing justice enough to my work, then taking a break is a different story. Moreover, I think, we can always find excuses as to not find time or reason to do something. But we’ve been given 24 hours and we use it well, I feel 24 hours is a lot of time to pack in everything that you want to do. 

I started training for the Ironman six months before the event. And like I said, I started from ground zero. I had a coach who sent me a plan, and I tried to hit those targets every week. And since I was preparing for a Triathlon, there are three disciplines to chase; I had to divide my time to prepare for each one, accordingly. I used to train for around 12 to 14 hours a week and divide that into three sessions of cycling, three sessions of running, and in between two to three sessions of swimming. On a given holiday, like a Sunday, I did all three together. As my body got fitter, the volume kept on increasing. Starting from nothing, within three months, my body was fit enough to compete. However, during the main month of my training, I was shooting for a film with Sunny (Deol) sir in a little village where there was no place for me to swim, or a treadmill to run on. So, the training became a little difficult. But then, it’s all worth it. I used to run back from the set and carry my stationary cycle with me. But swimming had entirely stopped.

Every single morning, when I had to wake up! I would be like — ‘Why am I doing this when I have a whole day of work?’ Three months before the film started, I was also hosting a show during the IPL. For 60 days, I was working for nine hours. And then I was also training. So, of course I kept questioning why I am training. Honestly, the race is a celebration. You just go to pick the medal up at the race. It's the training that actually is everything, right? Because if you don’t put in the hours in your training, you’re not going to be able to do anything on the actual day. So, yes, giving up was a thought every single morning, but once you put on those shoes, then you’re fine. In fact, when I had lost my route, I said told myself, now whatever happens, I will finish this race. I had become that stubborn.

I've always spoken about how sports has helped me, mostly in my acting career, besides the obvious discipline that it sets into your life. I see a lot of people doing action films who don’t have the basic physical health that you need to do an action film. The reason I chose endurance sports is because I want to be here for the long run, and I don’t want to take shortcuts. Acting is such a test of your patience, just like Ironman is. The only difference is that when I do endurance sport, it is my practice, my hard work, and what I put in. And I finally achieved a medal finish; but with acting, even when you put in the same hard work, the result is not in your hands. If the audience feels the film does not work for them, or if a producer feels that you’re not viable, you don’t get jobs! What Ironman has taught me is that you need to just look at that one step ahead of you and not think of the finish line. All you need is to be better than what you were yesterday. I’ve applied this learning to my professional life as well of just being extremely stubborn, because if you’re not stubborn, then you cannot do anything or last.

I’ve been very fortunate in terms of the makers I’ve been able to work with. Be it Anurag (Kashyap) sir, (R) Balki sir, Rakesh (Omprakash Mehra) sir, Neeraj (Pandey) sir. I just hope some of the fortune comes off with the box office, because clearly that’s very important as well. With regard to genres, I am somebody who likes to go into uncomfortable territory. Choked was an uncomfortable territory for me, because it’s very away from the person I am. But for me, it’s not the genre, it’s the script, which if it resonates with me; I mean when I read and I don’t want to put it down, I know that this is something that I want to be a part of. I did a show called Faadu which is very close to my heart, because it was a very well written script. Of course, Ghoomer is probably the closest film to my heart, not just because it was about sports, but for everything that the film gave me. When I do films like a Choked or Ghoomer, it makes me very greedy as an actor. I hope I get more such meaty roles.

The biggest compliment as an actor is when someone says, ‘I didn't recognise you in the film.’ If I managed to do that, I’d be a very happy actor. With Choked, it was still very early in my career, and I give all the credit to Anurag sir. He’s very, very strange, because on set, it doesn’t feel like he’s directing you. It’s just the confidence he instills in the actor before the film starts; the fact that he knows he has cast the correct person, does all the trick. When you see the history of his work, you kind of see that come out. AK put that confidence in me when I didn’t have the confidence in myself. And then, of course, it was about me and how I play the character. What you do is you take out somewhat similar instances from your life and put them all together. You know, it has become a joke when an actor says, I’m a director’s actor, but I’m somebody who truly loves to be handheld by my director. In acting, you have to be completely vulnerable. So the trust I have with somebody like Balki sir, or Anurag sir is what brings out the best in an actor, and I think they are geniuses when it comes to that.

I have two projects which are ready. One is Special Ops with Neeraj (Pandey) sir which I had to be a part of, because I was signed in the first season. Then I have a film where I am playing a firefighter. I’m also currently shooting for a film which is a completely new and uncharted territory for me. The film is with Sunny (Deol) sir; it’s a very commercial action film. I feel it’s a big learning for me, because I’ve never been a part of something so big in its scale. 

Yes, I am a very greedy actor and my wish list is long! There is Vasant Bala, whose work I really like; Sanjay Leela Bhansali of course — every female actor wants to be part of his film. Neeraj Ghaywan, Avinash Arun, Malayalam director Anjali Menon — I love their works. I’d love to do a Malayalam film soon.

I don’t keep myself very free. I had been preparing for the Ironman which didn’t leave me too much free time. But I love travelling. I make sure that I leave the city (Mumbai) the minute I get a chance to. Right now as we talk, I’m driving through Nashik, where my parents live. Given an opportunity, I run away from the city and just go climb mountains. I have learned how to surf, but I want to master my surfing skills a little bit, so I plan to do that in maybe November. I’m a diver, so I will jump and go diving when I get the opportunity. I am a big fan of Gulzar sahab so if I’m stuck to my house in Bombay, then I will read Gulzar sahab’s books and listen to old Hindi music.