Mumbai, March 6 (). There are only a few actors in Indian cinema who entertain the audience with a new look every time. Anupam Kher is one of them. Be it comedy or villain, elderly father or police commissioner… he has played almost every type of character. He likes challenges and that is why his career has remained at its peak for more than 40 years. Every time a different style, different emotion and different look is seen in his films.
Anupam Kher was born on 7 March 1955 in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. He belongs to a Kashmiri Pandit family. His father Pushkar Nath Kher was a clerk in the forest department and mother Dulari Kher was a housewife. He was interested in acting since childhood, so he left his studies midway and studied Indian Drama at Punjabi University, Chandigarh. Later he also joined the National School of Drama.
Anupam Kher’s film journey started in 1984 with Mahesh Bhatt’s film ‘Saraansh’. In this film, at the age of 28, he played the role of a 65-year-old father. People were surprised as to how he played this character at such a young age… When someone asked him this question, Anupam would just smile and say, ‘It’s a film, it’s magic!’ This was the wonder of his art. For this he also received the Filmfare Best Actor Award.
After this, Anupam Kher left his mark in negative roles also. People liked his villain style in films like ‘Karma’, ‘Tezaab’, and ‘Chaalbaaz’. Along with this, he also showed his talent in comic roles. His comic character in films like ‘Ram Lakhan’ became so popular that he was awarded the Filmfare Best Performance in Comic Role Award.
Anupam Kher accepted challenges in every phase of life. His character in the film ‘Daddy’ was very complex, for which he received the National Film Award Special Jury and the Filmfare Critics Award. He always says that new experimentation is necessary in every role. For this reason, every character in his films has a different life.
Apart from Bollywood, he also worked in international films. People still remember his acting in films like ‘Bend It Like Beckham’, ‘Last’, ‘Counting’, and ‘Silver Linings Playbook’. He also received a BAFTA nomination for his work in the British TV film ‘The Boy with the Top Knot’.
Anupam Kher not only acted but also tried his hand in direction and production. He directed and produced films like ‘Om Jai Jagdish’ and ‘Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara’. He is also the founder of the acting school ‘Actor Prepares’. On TV, he also worked in shows like ‘New Amsterdam’ and ‘Mrs. Wilson’.
In view of his art and social service, the Government of India honored him with Padma Shri in 2004 and Padma Bhushan in 2016. In 2021, he also received an honorary doctorate degree from Hindu University of America.
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PK/DKP
