Anupam Kher sits in his office surrounded by pictures, books, awards and plants, all acquired over 35 years of his career in Bollywood. He is proud of his achievements and says that God has been kind to him. Proudly displaying his first identity card, the actor says, “This is my first identity card when I joined NCC. This room has photographs that remind me of my achievements. At the same time, my pictures from my young days remind me where I come from and how I began life here. I look at the trophies and feel good.”
He reminisces about how lucky he was to bag Saaransh. “It left a deep impact on my life and showed me the path to live like the character—JV Pradhan—the 65-year-old protagonist. I thought if I become a man like that it will a great thing. He was upright, honest, and fought with the system and he had his own identity. He never believed in rebirth. I think I am slowly becoming like him. My philosophy has become like that. On January 1, 1984 when I was giving my first 10-minute shot, I asked Mahesh Bhatt about the qualities of this character. He replied, “Compassion and understanding other people’s problems.” Had I become a hero, perhaps I would have not have tried to emulate that character (in Saransh). My father always told me be thankful for what I got.”
For Kher life has always been about dreams and ambitions. “I have a sense of wonder about life. The day that wonder goes away, I will stop living. I don’t take life seriously but I have taken it positively. Times have changed but I never stopped dreaming. God has been kind and supported me in my endeavours and my hard work has paid off. I came to Mumbai with just `37. I am a millionaire today. I don’t compare myself with what I did last year. I think about how I started and where I stand today. All I dreamt of was to act in a film, and never stopped pursuing that dream. Then I dreamt of doing a film with Dilip Kumar and then Amitabh Bachchan. Today, I am working with Robert De Niro in an American series. Now I dream of working in an English series,” smiles the actor.
People call him a veteran, a thespian, or a legend, but the 64-year-old handles his career with greater enthusiasm and still considers himself a newcomer. “We tire ourselves out by thinking of our retirement. My father retired at the age of 58, and he went into depression as soon as he retired because he wanted to do a lot more. Luckily, in my profession if you are fit you can work as long as you want. Actors such as Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen and Amitabh Bachchan are still working with so much energy. They are my inspiration. The merits of being an actor is that there is no age for retirement.”
Little wonder that he is now doing his 516th film, titled One Day: Justice Delivered. Kher says, “I play a retiring judge who has led a honest and clean career. But in four cases he has given wrong judgements. He meets these four characters and finally delivers justice. It’s an interesting film that also stars Esha Gupta and Kumud Misra.
Besides this, I am doing a film titled Hotel Mumbai which will also release in July. I have also penned my autobiography, Lessons Life Taught Me, Unknowingly. It is set to release soon.”