Actor Saiyami Kher says she is often asked by people in the film industry to be "out there" on social media, a piece of advice she finds difficult to follow.

Kher, known for work in “Choked”, “Ghoomer”, and “Breathe: Into The Shadows", said one has to project a curated image of their real life on the Internet.

The actor, who has 1.1 million followers on Instagram and 1.3 lakh followers on X, was speaking ahead of the premiere of her film "Agni". She made her Hindi movie debut in 2016 with “Mirzya”.

"I’m not the biggest fan of social media and I get reprimanded for it a lot, saying, ‘You need to be out there, you need to wear certain clothes and be on social media’. That’s the advice I keep getting but I do what my heart tells me to do," Kher told PTI in an interview.

"My family makes way more sacrifices for me than I make as an actor because you have to show decorum and you need to show that everything in your life is good because that’s what you keep seeing on social media," she added.

It's important to be "thick-skinned" as an actor but everyone has their bad days, she said.

"All the sacrifices my family makes because of all my tantrums and bad moods... It's a bit unfair, you take them for granted, and you snap at them. When you have a bad day, that's (family) the only cushion you have. So, the sacrifices they make are much more than I do." "Agni", billed as India's first film on firefighters, delves into the lives of a fireman (Pratik Gandhi), and a policeman (Divyenndu), who are drawn into a perplexing surge of fire incidents around the city.

Kher plays Avni, an officer who investigates a massive fire accident that takes place in the movie, directed by Rahul Dholakia ("Parzania", "Raees").

"What resonates with me about 'Agni' was the righteousness of the character. She is somebody who stands or gets angry when people are corrupt or not following the rules. She is an investigative officer and it infuriates her because people around her are so relaxed about not following the rules.

"I feel cinema is a powerful (medium)... it impacts people in good and bad ways. I hope that the work I do impacts people in a good way," she said.

Kher said an actor can't sign a project on the assumption that it will be a hit or not.

"If the film or role excites you, it’s about the gut feeling. For me, it is always about trying something new and with ‘Agni’ it was a different world. The reason I became an actor is that when you grow up, you are often asked, ‘What do you want to do?’ "I used to never have an answer to it but I would be like, ‘I want to be a lawyer, an architect, a doctor’. So, as an actor you get to do that. That’s the reason I became an actor as I love living different lives. You get to learn about the life of a firefighter and see what they go through. If the project excites you and (helps) you learn something new, for me that is what it is about." "Agni" will start streaming on Prime Video from December 6.

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