Sahher Bamba manifested this

I don’t think there could be anyone more single than I am right now,” Sahher Bambba laughs on the other end of the line. “Romantic love is kind of non-existent in my life, but I’m not complaining,” she continues. While work takes up most of her time, it’s also her priority, and “nothing and no one can get in the way of that.” You could say she’s in on the whole online discourse around how having a boyfriend is embarrassing, but Bambba, 26, is not chronically online enough to know (or care). She has been booked and busy since The Ba***ds of Bollywood (2025), the Netflix hit that catapulted her into limelight. “Even my off days do not seem like days off anymore, it’s always something or the other,” she shares (with gratitude, of course).

Contrary to popular belief, and with no help from her character in the blockbuster series, Bambba is not a “nepo baby.” Born and brought up in Shimla, she knew early on that she wanted to be an actor, despite having a “very protected childhood.” “There was nothing to do (in Shimla) except go to school, followed by tuitions, and then dance classes,” she says, adding: “I was very clear that once I finished school, I had to go to Mumbai for college and buy myself a three-year window to explore the film industry and audition around to see if I could crack something.”

Bambba enrolled at Jai Hind College and moved to Mumbai in 2017. Classes, however, took a backseat to auditions—a choice her parents fully supported. She never even had to have ‘the talk’; they always knew acting was where she was headed. With no industry backing, Bambba never thought that her dream of making it in Bollywood was far-fetched. She didn’t know how it would happen, only that it would. “I’m a very instinctive person,” she explains. “I strangely never even had a plan B.” In hindsight, she doesn’t quite know where that kind of confidence came from. “All I knew was that this is my calling.”

 

Taking the plunge

Bambba first appeared on the big screen in 2019 in Sunny Deol’s Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, co-starring Karan Deol. While she went on to appear in projects like The Empire (2021–) and Dil Bekaraar (2021–), it wasn’t until Aryan Khan’s directorial debut that her work truly cut through. Talking about her earlier years, she reflects, “One has to make peace with the fact that in this industry, the highs can be really high and the lows can be really low.”

Years of rejection have taught Bambba one crucial lesson: Not to take it personally. “I don’t think anyone can train themselves to go through something like that,” she says, “but over the years, you become a little thick skinned.” So, when she was called in to audition for The Ba***ds of Bollywood in 2022, she thought it was too good to be true. After being turned down repeatedly, she had misgivings about auditioning for a role “all of Mumbai was going for.” “But I’m so glad I did,” she smiles over the phone. Being part of a show that is unanimously loved across borders, she admits, is rare.

2025 marked a lot of firsts for her. She walked the ramp for Kolkata-based designer Richa Khemka at Lakmé Fashion Week in partnership with FDCI and starred in singer-songwriter-rapper King’s music video for his single, 'Kamaal Hai'.

We wrap up our conversation sooner than planned, Bambba has a gym session to make it to and a shoot lined up later in the evening, the details of which she can’t share right now. What she can share is that she’ll begin filming a new project soon, set to be announced in the coming months, with more exciting work in the pipeline. What Bambba is certain about is the kind of actor she wants to be and the characters she wants to play. While she doesn’t mind being pigeonholed into the “rich girl” mould as yet, she is “hungry” for more. “If I were offered anything like Gone Girl, which is my favourite film of all time, I’d say yes in a heartbeat.”

For now, she is in her motivated era. “I wake up every day feeling extremely inspired and ready to take on the world.”

Editor: Snigdha Ahuja (@snigdha.ahuja)
Interview: Ananya Rai (@anniiiiiiiee)
Photographer: Amitava Saha (@amitabhbachpan)
Stylist: Manpreet Kaur (@manpreetkaur15)
Makeup Artist: Karma Choezom 
Hair Artist: Mohd Akram
Cover Design: Mandeep Singh Khokhar (@mandy_khokhar19)
Editorial Coordinator: Shalini Kanojia (@shalinikanojia)
Styling Assistant: Honokali Yeputho 
Location: PVR Director’s Cut, Ambience Mall, Gurgaon (@ambiencemalls)

On Sahher: Outfit, Label Ritu Kumar (@labelritukumar); earrings, Swarovski (@swarovski)