India, June 13 -- Actor Saiyami Kher and her father Adwait Kher share a deep bond rooted in their love for trekking, sports and the great outdoors. But when it comes to Bollywood, the two stand on very different ground. Adwait, 67, proudly credits himself for passing on his athletic streak to Saiyami: "I'm very happy that she has inherited the sports gene from me. She's a natural." Now settled in Nashik as the owner of a farmstay, Adwait made a conscious decision to raise Saiyami and her sister away from Mumbai's film circuit, despite having dabbled in modelling himself: "I've been associated with Bollywood since childhood, which is exactly why we moved to Nashik. I didn't want to raise my children in Mumbai. I never liked Bollywood, and now that she's chosen it as a career, of course I'm nervous. I've seen too much of the business to be entirely at ease with it." So much so, that Saiyami recalls not being allowed to watch films during her early years. "My father was very strict when we were younger. He didn't let me or my sister watch films till we were about 14. He felt there was so much more to life than cinema and I'm grateful for that upbringing," says the actor. Saiyami beams as she recalls her father's own stint in front of the camera: "He was born and brought up in Mumbai, went to Bombay Scottish, and graduated from St. Xavier's. He even acted in A Mouthful of Sky, India's first English-language television series. We've done a few ads together when I was a child, but he's done over a hundred ads himself. He's worked with fashion photographer Atul Kasbekar too. Eventually, he stepped away because he never really liked that world - he found it too confining." While Adwait may not be sold on showbiz, he remains deeply invested in Saiyami's journey: "What I admire most is her ability to connect with people; it's a rare quality. If I could learn that from her, I'd be thrilled. She has all the makings of a great diplomat. Let's see what the future holds." But Saiyami, isn't looking for a switch just yet: "He's made me a very strong person," she says, adding, "The reason I'm able to survive in this industry is because of the way I was raised. Even now, when I get praised, he's the most emotional and proud. And when things don't go well, he's the one who hurts the most."...