Exclusive - The Bads of Bollywood's Sahher Bambba on Aryan Khan, meeting SRK: 'He’s so chivalrous, considerate, exactly like his father'

Sahher Bambba with SRK and Aryan Khan

It has been more than two weeks since Aryan Khan's directorial venture The Bads Of Bollywood premiered on Netflix. And fans can't stop raving about its star cast - be it Lakshya, Raghav Juyal or the very charming and pretty Sahher Bambba.

The 25-year-old actress from Delhi, wowed everyone with her performance of Karishma Talwar in the series. Sahher is still processing the whirlwind of attention to her performance as Karishma Talwar.

From being hailed as the new national crush to finding herself on speed-dial for every casting director in town, the actress has suddenly become the name everyone’s talking about.

In an exclusive conversation with Moneycontrol, Sahher spoke about her experience of working under Aryan Khan’s direction, her awe-inspiring encounter with superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and how life has completely transformed since The Bads of Bollywood released.

“Aryan is a very nice guy. He just makes you feel comfortable from the get go. I remember the first time I had met him socially a couple of times.  Also when I met SRK sir, I just realised that an apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. He's exactly like his father," she told us.

Sahher told us that the first meeting with SRK left her spellbound. But in true SRK fashion, the superstar knew exactly how to dissolve the awe.

"I was awestruck, I think he kind of sensed it and he came up to me and he hugged me. He's just so amazing and so welcoming. Never for once did I ever feel like out of place with them ever," she told us in a video interview recently.

Her rise might look overnight, but it is built on years of hustle - from the romantic Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas to the glitzy drama of The Bads of Bollywood. She laughs when asked if she’s had a moment’s peace since the release.

“Not at all. In fact, my mom and my sister, they keep telling me, just put your phone away and just leave. You've not slept in days. Even if I wake up at the end of the night, the first thing I just grab my phone and I see who's messaged. It's quite overwhelming.”

And while the glamour, success and the sudden spotlight feel surreal, Sahher is quick to anchor herself in gratitude.

For her, Aryan Khan’s clarity as a filmmaker and SRK and Gauri’s warmth as producers define the experience.

“It’s by far my most special and incredible experience because he's also the same age group. Just to jam on ideas, to take feedback , it was just a very friendly, fun environment to be on. But when it came to work, we all really worked and we were very serious, we all did our takes and retakes and variations, takes after takes, because like I said, he was very clear with his vision. So, he knew exactly what he wanted. Other than that, there was no hierarchy on set at all. He was so respectful towards everybody, would take everybody's feedback, their opinions, and just so much fun to be around. And he would just like notice the minutest of details.”

Excerpts from the exclusive interview:

Ques: Sahher Bambba, how is it going after the release of The Bads of Bollywood? Has your phone stopped ringing or not?

Sahher: Not at all. In fact, my mom and my sister, they keep telling me, just put your phone away and just leave. You've not slept in days. Even if I wake up at the end of the night, the first thing I just grab my phone and I see who's messaged. It's quite overwhelming.

Q: And now you're also being called as the national crush of India. So how does that feel? Did you expect this kind of reaction to your role in The Bads of Bollywood?

Sahher: The response to the show and to my character has been incredible. I did expect the show to do well, but to that degree, it's like, even I'm like a little taken aback with all the love that's coming in. But I'm just so happy that it all panned out. Like you said, years of hard work is finally paid off, I would say.

Watch the interview:

Ques: How was your chemistry with Lakshya and scenes with Raghav Juyal. How did that go?

Sahher: I think the chemistry bit, I think it was all actually on paper in the writing. It was Aryan (Khan) and the other writers had just written the stuff in such a way that it was very easy for us as actors to kind of establish that chemistry. But other than that, I think both Raghav and Lakshya are very talented actors. And I've had a blast shooting those scenes with them, whether it was the scene with Emraan Hashmi, sir, or the climax. It was just a very fun energy to be around. And I had a blast on the shoot.

Ques: How was your meeting with Shah Rukh Khan? Did you have that fangirl moment after meeting him? And how was it working with Aryan?

Sahher: Aryan is a very nice guy. He just makes you feel comfortable from the get go. I remember the first time I had met him socially a couple of times, but the first time I auditioned with him. We had to perform so many scenes in different variations, little things that he did. He's just a very different guy from any of the guys I've seen in my generation. He's so chivalrous. He's such a considerate guy. I was just very happy. And it just kept getting better every single day. Also when I met SRK sir, I just realised that an apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. He's exactly like his father.

I was awestruck, I think he kind of sensed it and he came up to me and he hugged me. He's just so amazing and so welcoming. Never for once did I ever feel like out of place with them ever.

Ques: We've seen you in ‘Pal Pal Dil ke Paas’, romantic. And this is more of a glamorous and an intense role. How difficult or easy was it for you to play Karishma Talwar?

Sahher: This character in specific was difficult in the sense that her background is very different. I'm a total outsider, a totally different financial background, totally different kind of background. And here this is Karishma Talwar who has all the privileges in the world. She's this superstar's daughter. And that's from the word get go on paper only. I thought this was poles apart. But I think Aryan and I, we kind of really cracked the character in a way where she's a very relatable star kid.

She's not your typical star kid, what people would imagine her to be like. She has a certain innocence about her. She's also trying really hard to cement herself as an actor.

She's trying to make her debut away from a superstar father's legacy. So, we just wanted to keep her very fresh. And he never asked me, to watch this actresses or this star kid's body language and try and ape that. He never gave me any reference point, not even a name also, ever. He just said, this is Karishma Talwar. We will play it as we feel it and let's keep it fresh. And that's how Karishma Talwar was born.

Ques: How has the response been – is it positive or few negatives also?

Sahher: I'm also a little taken aback. The response to the show and to each and every character has been so, so great. I'm yet to come across something which people are saying it's a bad show or it's bad this, that. I'm just very grateful. And that's why I'm just like taking it all in because it's quite a moment that after a long time, a show like that has been loved unanimously.

Ques: And did your previous performances also help you get this role or how was it?

Sahher: No, I don't think Aryan's seen any of my previous work. It was Karan Malli and Nandini Shrikant's casting team who had reached out to me saying that Aryan's making a show and we're testing a lot of people. So, would you like to come and test? So for me, when I first got that phone call, I was like, wow, I would obviously love to test for it. But it just felt so far fetched and so good to be true. I was like half of Mumbai must be auditioning for this. And it was actually true. A lot of people audition for Karishma Talwar. And I am sitting here with a heart full of gratitude that Aryan gave me this part and I was able to be a part of this humongous show.

Ques: Scenes, especially the intense ones with Bobby Deol or Gautami, how were those? Were you scared or worried?

Sahher: Not even once did they make me feel uncomfortable or intimidated. We were all so involved as actors to get the scenes right, to get the characters right and the tonality of it right. And Bobby sir was also so sweet.

He was always very encouraging. And Gautami ma'am and I are like buddies. We are so close till date. She's playing my mother but it felt like I was hanging out with a friend on set and we would look forward to working with each other and we would get excited.

Ques: How was your, what would you say your life pre-Bads of Bollywood, post-The Bads of Bollywood?

Sahher: Before The Bads of Bollywood my frame of mind was very different because I remember that was a phase where I was just auditioning left, right and centre, every single day of my life and making it to the shortlist, making it to the second round or the third round. And when you're this close to getting it, then you don't get it. So that had become like a pattern. And then came at a point where I was like, okay, what if the pattern repeats itself? And now when I'm seeing the response is just so gratifying and so amazing. I think that the change of mind and the change of life state is what has changed drastically.

Ques: Any role that you were close to getting it but didn’t make it to the final list?

Sahher: There have been actually a few really solid ones where I was in the top two, top three. But I feel it all happens for a reason. Your director has a certain vision and sometimes you don't fit the part. It's not like the thing that you're a bad actor or anything, which a lot of actors start to feel when they don't crack auditions. But I think sometimes the other person just fits the bill more perfectly, a little better than you. So, I've just stopped taking those rejections to heart.

Ques: Did the nepotism debate that we talk about affect you?

Sahher: My biggest learning from playing Karishma Talwar's character was precisely this, that initially when I had just started out, I used to sometimes feel that these people might get their first opportunity a little easy and all of that. But eventually, I also have to say that so many people unfortunately didn't get more work because the audiences expected a little more out of them, which brings me to the point that they have their own struggles too. My struggles as an outsider and as Sahher are obviously very different to somebody who's already been in the city or been in part of the industry for donkey's years and whose parents are in the industry.

Our struggles are very different, but even they have, which is what my biggest learning was that often, more often than not, they're often attacked for no fault of theirs.

If we talk of nepotism – Bobby sir himself, comes from a privileged family, he also had this phase in his life where things weren't really panning out the way he had imagined. So, if everything was happening because of nepotism, then he would have never had perhaps that dull phase. But then again, he's come back and it's such an inspiring journey. And I've often spoken to him also about it. So I think hats off. I don't think nepotism can really take you to a place where you really want if you lack talent.

Ques: How was it working with Aryan and how is he as a director?

Sahher: It's by far my most special and incredible experience because he's also the same age group. Just to jam on ideas, to take feedback , it was just a very friendly, fun environment to be on. But when it came to work, we all really worked and we were very serious, we all did our takes and retakes and variations, takes after takes, because like I said, he was very clear with his vision. So, he knew exactly what he wanted.

Other than that, there was no hierarchy on set at all. He was so respectful towards everybody, would take everybody's feedback, their opinions, and just so much fun to be around. And he would just like notice the minutest of details.

Ques: How were SRK and Gauri as producers?

Sahher: They were not involved in Aryan's creative side in the sense that whatever is written and whatever he's directed, it's all Aryan and his team. It's never really been Gauri ma'am and SRK sir stepping in. It was directed by Aryan through and through.

There was, you know, he did it all by himself. But as producers, they've been so, so, so lovely and so warm. I remember going to the house also and just them being so welcoming. It was such a family sort of an atmosphere. Gauri ma'am would ask you to have dinner and just eat properly. And she's such a mother-like figure to me also.

But I think they're amazing as producers. I think I've never felt so taken care of with the way I felt with Red Chillies.

Ques: Have you ever faced online trolling or criticism? And how do you respond to it?

Sahher: Some of my favourite actors who are so big and famous when they also put up posts, I see comments and they're so like random and nasty that it just makes me feel like, if they didn't leave us, why would they leave us? So I don't take anything personally at all. And I don't know how I have this thick skinned.

But here and there, if I get some messages or some comments, it actually never really perturbs me. Because also I think the love for the show and the love for Karishma Talwar is so much that it just kind of compensates for those one, two nasty comments.

The Bads of Bollywood is streaming on Netflix.