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Sikandar Kher on Aarya, Monica, O My Darling and Finding His Way Forward

After years of intermittent work, Sikandar Kher began seeking meetings and taking auditions. He reflects on Aarya, smaller roles and why the work matters more than lead status.
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Sikandar Kher’s account of finding momentum in his career is less a sudden turnaround than a change in approach: after years of intermittent work, he began asking for meetings, taking auditions and choosing projects for the work itself rather than only for lead roles. In a June 18, 2023 interview with Scroll, he described how an audition for Aarya led to the role of Daulat—and why getting onto a set mattered more than waiting for a starring part.

From leading-man ambitions to a stop-start career

Kher said watching Top Gun first made him want to be a leading man. He made his debut in Woodstock Villa in 2008, followed by films including Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, Players, Aurangzeb and Tere Bin Laden 2. But he described long gaps between jobs, sometimes working only every year or two.

His own summary was: “I would say my graph has been steady, but flowing at a lower level.” He also acknowledged that being part of a film family gave him access to meetings that many aspiring actors could not get. Access, in his account, did not remove the need to keep finding work and build a career over time.

Why he started asking for meetings

Kher said he changed tactics after being told he had won a part and then losing it. He began contacting people to request ten minutes, following up when they did not reply, and showing them his showreel. He recalled trying to leave after nine minutes unless the person asked him to stay.

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During one meeting, an unnamed filmmaker urged him to start small rather than wait for the ideal opportunity. Kher recalled the advice: “You are not on the train, you are on the platform. Get on the train, even if it’s in the last bogie. Just get on whether you ever get to first class or not. Just get on a set.” The interview does not name the filmmaker.

The point was not that a small role guarantees bigger parts. It was that working gives an actor a chance to perform, be seen and continue building a record of work. Kher also recalled his father, Anupam Kher, telling him: “Work, because work will get you more work.”

How an audition brought him to Aarya

Kher said he booked Aarya through an audition after trying out for many roles. He plays Daulat in the series, which arrived in 2020 and was directed by Ram Madhvani, according to Scroll’s interview introduction. Kher described it as the first project of his that had worked for him.

He put the process plainly: “I booked Aarya through my audition.” For him, getting cast was only one part of the equation: a performance also has to be seen, and a project has to connect with audiences if it is to bring further recognition. His description is a personal account of how the role fit into his career, not an independently measured claim that one series alone caused a turnaround.

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Why he chose roles beyond the lead

By the time of the June 2023 interview, Kher said he was looking for work he liked rather than pursuing lead roles as a goal in themselves. He explained: “I don’t go looking for just leads. I look for stuff I like, such as Tooth Pari.”

Project Role or role size described What Kher said drew him to it
Aarya He plays Daulat; the interview does not specify the role’s size. He said he won it through an audition and called it the first work of his that succeeded for him.
Tooth Pari The interview does not specify his role or its size. He cited it as an example of work he wanted to do.
Monica, O My Darling He accepted a small part. He wanted to work with director Vasan Bala and liked the project’s fun, quirky, entertaining style.

Kher said Raj Nidimoru saw Monica, O My Darling and invited him to a meeting that led to Citadel. This is the sequence he described in 2023; it should not be read as a verified account of his later project slate or as proof of the sole reason he was cast.

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What Kher says he learned from setbacks

Kher did not describe his career as a clean climb. He said, “Failure is an insane teacher. It’s the greatest teacher.” He also recalled his mother, Kirron Kher, advising him: “So, you need to be strong. Your heart needs to be strong.” Taken together with the train metaphor, his account stresses persistence: seek opportunities, accept work that interests you, and keep going through periods when recognition or employment is uneven.

That is Kher’s perspective in the interview, rather than a universal formula for an acting career. The interview does not independently establish why particular casting decisions happened or measure how much any one role changed his prospects.

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