Anupam Kher

Indian actor, director, and producer Anupam Kher was born on March 7, 1955, and he specializes in Hindi-language movies. He is regarded as one of the best performers in Indian film and has portrayed a wide range of characters, including many highly regarded main or supporting parts. Two National Film Awards and eight Filmfare Awards are among his accomplishments. He received the Padma Shri from the Indian government in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 in recognition of his contributions to Indian film and the arts.

Kher made his acting debut in the drama film Saaransh (1984), directed by Mahesh Bhatt. This was Kher's breakout role; the role got him a lot of accolades and the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his depiction of the old father. He has since starred in a number of further supporting parts. In films like ChaalBaaz (1989), Tezaab (1988), and Karma (1986), he received a lot of praise for his bad parts.

Kher was recognized for his performance with the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Ram Lakhan gained further notoriety in 1989 for his comedic roles and was honored with the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comedic Role. He also got two major accolades for his work Daddy: the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance and the National Film Award - Special Jury Award. Afterwards, Kher received nominations for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for roles in movies including Dil (1990), Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994), Saudagar (1991), Lamhe (1991), Chaahat (1996), Special 26 (2013), and Uunchai (2022).

He won for Khel (1992), Darr (1993), and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). He was nominated for a Filmfare Award in the category of Best Performance in a Comic Role for Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (1991), Shola aur Shabnam (1992), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), and Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge (2000).

Kher's other well-known films include The Kashmir Files (2022), M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016), A Wednesday! (2008), Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), Buddha Mar Gaya (2006), and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015). For the latter film, he received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. He has acted in international films as well as Hindi ones, including Bend It Like Beckham (2002), which was nominated for a Golden Globe, Lust, Caution (2007), David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook (2012), and Hotel Mumbai (2019), directed by Anthony Maras. In 2018, he was nominated for a BAFTA for his supporting performance in the British sitcom The Boy with the Topknot.

He was the chairman of the National School of Drama in India and the Central Board of Film Certification before. October 2017 saw Kher become the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Chairman. Given his adherence to the Bharatiya Janata Party, his appointment was met with controversy. Citing work commitments for the American TV series New Amsterdam, he resigned from his position as chairman of the FTII a year later.

Early Life and Background

Kher was born in Shimla on March 7, 1955, into a family of Kashmiri Pandits. In the Himachal Pradesh forest department, his father, Pushkar Nath Kher, worked as a clerk, while his mother, Dulari Kher, stayed at home. He attended Shimla's D. A. V. School for his education. He left Government College, Sanjauli, the Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla where he was studying economics to pursue an education in Indian theater at Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Kher received her diploma from the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi in 1978. He had a few early roles in plays at the University of Himachal Pradesh. He had a brief role in the film Sheeshay ka Ghar, which he directed, teaching drama at Raj Bisaria's Bharatendu Natya Akademi in Lucknow.

Early Career

He spent a month sleeping on a train station during his hard times as an actor in Bombay, or modern-day Mumbai. With the drama film Saaransh, directed by Mahesh Bhatt, Kher made his acting debut in Hindi cinema in 1984. In the film, he played a 65-year-old retired middle class teacher who loses his son. Kher received a lot of appreciation for his portrayal, despite the movie's modest box office success. His depiction of the old father brought him numerous accolades, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Since Kher lost his hair at an early age, he played a 65-year-old in his debut job at the age of 29.

He carried on working on a number of additional projects from 1985 to 1988. Although he had a mediocre amount of success with each of them, his acting was not much appreciated. But, N. Chandra's action thriller Tezaab (1988), starring Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor and the year's highest grossing movie, was praised for Kher's portrayal of Shyam Lal, a man whose daughter is made to dance for him. His work in the critically panned Vijay was also acclaimed later in 1988, and he was awarded a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

With his roles in Subhash Ghai's thriller Ram Lakhan and the television movie Daddy, which brought him and Bhatt back together, Kher's career took a turn for the better in 1989. Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff, Dimple Kapadia, Raakhee, Satish Kaushik, Amrish Puri, and Paresh Rawal were among the ensemble cast members in the former film, which also starred Kher in a supporting role as Deodhar Shastri, a man who disapproves of his daughter's marriage to her childhood friend turned love interest. Ram Lakhan achieved a global gross of more than ₹326 million (US$4.1 million), making it the second highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. The latter brought him widespread praise, with several critics stating that it was his best performance to that point.

Acting Career and Progression

Kher received multiple accolades for both Daddy and Ram Lakhan. For the former, he was named a National Film Award Special Mention and received a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance; for the latter, he was named a recipient of his first Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role, which he shared with Kaushik, also referred to as the Filmfare Award for Best Comedian.

Later in 1989, Kher featured in Nigahen: Nagina Part II, a follow-up to the fantasy movie Nagina from 1986. He played Gorakh Nath, a snake charmer, in a co-starring role with Sridevi and Sunny Deol. The movie's box office performance was mediocre. After that, he made a brief cameo appearance in Yash Chopra's Chandni love triangle. He also played a police officer in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's action movie Parinda, which costarred Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff, and Nana Patekar. Parinda was both a critical and financial success in spite of a dismal premiere. ChaalBaaz, a slapstick comedy directed by Pankaj Parashar and starring Rajinikanth, Sridevi, and Sunny Deol, was Kher's last movie of the year. ChaalBaaz was a commercial triumph even though reviewers gave it mixed reviews.

Kher has also taken on a number of jobs. The Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance went to him for his performance in Daddy (1989). Indra Kumar's directorial debut, Dil (1990), costarring Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit, had Kher in the antagonistic role of Hazari Prasad, a miser who seeks a wealthy woman to marry his impoverished son. Critics gave Dil favorable reviews, and they thought Kher did a fantastic job. Dil became the best grossing Hindi movie of the year with domestic receipts over ₹180 million (US$2.3 million), and for his performance, Kher was nominated for a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor award.

In 1991, Kher was praised once more for his performance in Yash Chopra's love film Lamhe, in which he played Anil Kapoor's childhood friend and costarred with Sridevi. Lamhe did not do well at the box office in India, but it did well abroad. Kher received his second Filmfare Best Comedian Award for the role, despite the movie's dismal box office success.

Indra Kumar's drama Beta (1992), the highest-grossing Hindi cinema production of the year with a global total of ₹235 million (US$2.9 million), was Kher's fifth collaboration with Anil Kapoor, along with Madhuri Dixit and Aruna Irani. His humorous role in the movie led to another nomination for him to win the Best Comedian Filmfare Award. He won a third straight Filmfare Best Comedian Award later that year for his role as Dixit's uncle in the play Khel.

In the romantic thriller Darr (1993), which also starred Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, and Sunny Deol, Kher next got back again with Yash Chopra to play Chawla's brother. Among the highest-grossing Hindi movies of the year, it took in over ₹200 million (US$2.5 million) globally and won Kher a record-tying fourth and third Best Comedian awards at Filmfare. It took home the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Offering Wholesome Entertainment in addition to other honors.

Alongside Sridevi, Anil Kapoor, Aruna Irani, Raveena Tandon, and Farida Jalal, Kher played a factory owner in Raj Kanwar's 1994 thriller Laadla. Critics gave it mixed reviews, but it went on to become a financial success, earning over ₹110 million (US$1.4 million) in revenue globally. Later that year, Kher saw even more success as he costarred with Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan in Sooraj R. Barjatya's romantic comedy Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! It went on to become the highest-grossing Bollywood film at that time, taking in over ₹1.85 billion (US$23 million) in revenue worldwide. In the end, he received another nomination for Best Supporting Actor at Filmfare, and the movie turned out to be his second straight National Film Award winner for Best Popular Film.

The sole film that Kher appeared in in 1995 was Aditya Chopra's romance movie Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, which starred Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol and told the story of two non-resident Indians who fall in love while traveling through Europe. Khan's father, Dharamvir, won Kher a sixth Filmfare Best Comedian Award for his performance in the role. A sequel to Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge became a global hit, earning over ₹1 billion (US$13 million) in its first weekend of release. It also became the third film to win the National Film Award for Best Popular Film. His following two movies, Chaahat (1996) and Gudgudee (1997), were box office busts. Kher's performance in these two movies did not garner positive reviews.

The 1998 romantic film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai directed by Karan Johar featured him opposite to Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, and Archana Puran Singh. In this movie, Kher portrayed the humorous character of college principal Mr. Malhotra. With a global revenue of more than ₹1.07 billion (US$13 million), it was the highest-grossing movie of the year and Kabir's third box office hit in the previous four years. It also earned him another nomination for Best Comedian at Filmfare.

In Satish Kaushik's women-focused drama Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999), which was well-received by critics and enjoyed commercial success, Kher portrayed the father of Anil Kapoor's character. The comedy-drama Haseena Maan Jaayegi, which starred Sanjay Dutt, Govinda, and Karisma Kapoor, was his next project with David Dhawan. With the latter earning over ₹361 million (US$4.5 million), both of these films were huge commercial hits and among the highest-grossing Hindi films of 1999. He won the best actor prize at the New York City International Film Festival for his role in the Happy Birthday short film. In the widely and critically praised movie A Wednesday, he portrayed the Police Commissioner, Rathor.

ER on television, Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Bride and Prejudice (2004), The Mistress of Spices (2006), Lust, Caution (2007), and Speedy Singhs (2011) have made Kher well-known throughout the world. He was a co-star in Silver Linings Playbook (2012), which won an Academy Award.

Karol Bagh Productions is a film production firm founded in 2007 by Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik, who were classmates at NSD. Satish Kaushik directed their debut film, Tere Sang. He costarred with Mohanlal and Jaya Prada in the romantic Malayalam film Pranayam in 2011. One of Kher's seven all-time favorite movies is Pranayam. In addition, he acted in other Punjabi movies including Yaaran Naal Baharan and Marathi movies like Thoda Tuza...Thoda Maza and Kashala Udyachi Baat.

Recent Productions

The Hindi dubbing of the Disney-Pixar animated picture Up included Kher as Carl Fredricksen in 2009. The Dirty Politics also features Anupam Kher. Jackie Shroff and Om Puri are present in the film as well. Filmfare Award winner for Best Supporting Actor in M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016), Baby (2015), Special 26 (2013), and Baby (2015) are just a few of the films in which Kher has starred. Shongram, a fictional romantic drama set in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, was a 2014 British film in which Kher appeared.

The Accidental Prime Minister is a political biographical drama film that released in 2019. Kher played the role of former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Kashmir Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri and based on the 1990 genocide against the Kashmiri Pandits, starring Kher and Mithun Chakraborty and became a box office hit in 2022. Film critics complimented Kher's performance in general.