Anupam Kher

 

Anupam Kher

Anupam Kher (born 7 March 1955) is an Indian actor and the former Chairman of Film and Television Institute of India. He is the recipient of two National Film Awards and eight Filmfare Awards. He has appeared in over 500 films predominantly in Hindi language, and many plays. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in Saaransh (1984). He holds the record for winning the Filmfare Award for Best Comedian five times in total for: Ram Lakhan (1989), Lamhe (1991), Khel (1992), Darr (1993) and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). He won the National Film Award for Special Mention twice for his performances in Daddy (1989) and Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005). For his performance in the film Vijay (1988), he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Besides working in Hindi films, he has also appeared in international films such as the Golden Globe nominated Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Ang Lee’s Golden Lion–winning Lust, Caution (2007), and David O. Russell’s Oscar-winning Silver Linings Playbook (2012). He received a BAFTA nomination for his supporting role in the British television sitcom The Boy With The Topknot (2018).

He has held the post of chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification and the National School of Drama in India. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution in the field of cinema and arts.

Anupam Kher was appointed FTII chairman in October 2017, however his appointment was cited as problematic due to his pro-BJP stance and prolonged absences. On 31 October 2018, he resigned as the chairman of the FTII, citing his work commitments for the American TV show New Amsterdam.

Early life

Kher was born on 7 March 1955 in a Kashmiri Pandit family in Shimla. His father, Pushkar Nath Kher was a clerk in the forest department and his mother, Dulari Kher was a housewife. He was educated at D. A. V. School in Simla. He studied economics at Government College, Sanjauli in Shimla, but dropped out to study Indian theatre at Panjab University, Chandigarh. In his struggling days as an actor in Bombay (present-day Mumbai), he slept on railway platform for a month.

In 1978, Kher graduated from the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi. Some of his early roles were in plays performed at the Himachal Pradesh University. He taught drama in Raj Bisaria’s Bharatendu Natya Akademi in Lucknow for a small part in his directorial debut movie Sheeshay ka Ghar.

Career

In 1984, a 29-year-old Kher played a retired middle-class man who loses his son in Saaransh. Kher said that he lost his hair at a young age, and thus, his first role was playing a 65-year-old at the age of 29. Subsequently, he hosted TV shows such as Say Na Something To Anupam Uncle, Sawaal Dus Crore Ka, Lead India, and The Anupam Kher Show – Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai. He has enjoyed accolades for acting in Hum Aapke Hai Kaun while having face paralysis.

Kher has had many comic roles but he has also played a variety of roles. For his role in Daddy (1989), he received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance.

He has starred alongside Shah Rukh Khan in many filmssuch as Darr (1993), Zamaana Deewana (1995), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Chaahat (1996), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Mohabbatein (2000), Veer-Zaara (2004), Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), and Happy New Year (2014).

He ventured into directing with Om Jai Jagadish (2002) and has been a producer. He produced and starred in the film Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005). He received the Best Actor Award from the Karachi International Film Festival for his performance. He played the role of the Police Commissioner, Rathor, in the critically and commercially acclaimed film, A Wednesday.

Kher is known internationally for Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Bride and Prejudice (2004), The Mistress of Spices (2006) and Lust, Caution (2007), Speedy Singhs (2011), and TV show ER. In 2012, he co-starred in the Academy Award-winning Silver Linings Playbook.

Kher has written and starred in a play about his own life called Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai, which was directed by Feroz Abbas Khan.

In 2007, Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik, who studied together at NSD, started a film production company, Karol Bagh Productions. Their first film, Tere Sang, was directed by Satish Kaushik.

In 2011, he starred alongside Mohanlal and Jayaprada in the Malayalam language romantic drama Pranayam. Kher chose Pranayam as one of the seven best films of his career.

He also starred in a number of Marathi films such as Thoda Tuza…Thoda Maza, Kashala Udyachi Baat, and Punjabi films such as Yaaran Naal Baharan.

In 2009, Kher voiced Carl Fredricksen in the Hindi-dubbed version of the Disney-Pixar animated film Up.

Anupam Kher has also appeared in The Dirty Politics. The movie also features Om Puri and Jackie Shroff.

In 2014, Kher starred in the British film Shongram, a fictional romantic drama set during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

In 2016, Anupam Kher was a narrator in the ABP News documentary TV series Bharatvarsh, which showcased the journey from ancient India to the 19th century.

In late 2016, Anupam Kher produced Khwaabon Ki Zamin Par, a TV drama airing on Zindagi

Starting in fall of 2018, Anupam Kher starred in a new NBC medical drama TV series New Amsterdam as Dr. Vijay Kapoor (a neurologist). He also appeared as Shahbaz Karim in the BBC1 drama Mrs Wilson.

In 2019, Kher starred as the former Indian Prime minister Manmohan Singh in the political, biographical drama film The Accidental Prime Minister.

From October 2003 to October 2004 he served as chairman of the Indian Film Censor Board.

Films From 2000

2000	Mohabbatein	Kake
	Kya Kehna	Gulshan Bakshi
	Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai	Mr. Saxena/Sirjee
	Refugee	Jaan Mohammad
	Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge	Vicky Nath
	Dhadkan	Digvijay Varma
	Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai	Tamil Husband (Muthu Pillai)
2001	Praja	Bappu Haji Mustafa
	Jodi No.1	Rai Bahadur
	Little John	Swamiji
2002	Yeh Hai Jalwa	Robin Singh
	Bend It Like Beckham	Mr. Bhamra
2003	Banana Brothers	Ketan
2003	Jaal: The Trap	R. K. Sharma/Captain Rashid
2004	Bride and Prejudice	Mr. Bakshi
	Veer-Zaara	Zakir Ahmed
	Aabra Ka Daabra	Limbu
	Hum Jo Keh Na Paaye	Neeraj Mehta
2005	Kyaa Kool Hai Hum	Dr. Screwala
	Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara	Professor Uttam Chaudhary
	Sarkar	Motilal Khurana
	The Mistress of Spices	Geeta’s grandfather
	Main Aisa Hi Hoon	Dayanath Trivedi
	Paheli	Bhanwarlal
2006	Rang De Basanti	Rajnath Singhania
	Shaadi Se Pehle	Rani’s father
	Aap Ki Khatir	Arjun Khanna (Anu’s dad)
	Chup Chup Ke	Jaidev Prasad
	Hope and a Little Sugar	Colonel
	Khosla Ka Ghosla	Kamal Kishore Khosla
	Jaan-E-Mann	Vakil Chachu (Boney)
	Vivah	Harishchandra Bajpayee
	Apna Sapna Money Money	Satyabol Shastri
	Prateeksha	James Brown
2007	Shakalaka Boom Boom	Reggie’s father
	Kuttrapathirikai	Rajiv Gandhi
	Heyy Babyy	Mr. Malhotra
	Laaga Chunari Mein Daag	Shivshankar Sahay
	Apna Asmaan	Dr. Sathya
	Victoria No. 203
	Lust, Caution	Khalid Said ud-Din
	Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron
	Gandhi Park	Sammy Philips
2008	The Other End of the Line	Rajeev Sethi
	Dhoom Dadakka	Mungilal
	C Kkompany	Mr. Joshi
	A Wednesday!	Prakash Rathod
	Tahaan	Subhan Darr
	De Taali	Abhi’s father
	God Tussi Great Ho	Jagmohan Prajapati
	Meerabai Not Out	Dr. Awasthi
2009	Victory	Ram Shekhawat
	Morning Walk	Joymohan
	Tera Mera Ki Rishta	Meet’s father
	Zamaanat	Dr. Madan
	Sankat City	Faujdar
	Life Partner
	Yeh Mera India	Mr. Kaur
	Dil Bole Hadippa!	Vikram “Vicky” Singh
	Wake Up Sid	Ram Mehra
	Teree Sang	Judge
2010	Apartment	Madhusudan Tanha
	Dabangg	Dayal Babu
	You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
	Striker	Inspector Farooque
	Pyaar Impossible	Abhay’s father
2011	Yamla Pagla Deewana	Joginder Singh Brar
	Naughty @ 40	Laxminarayan Srivastav
	Chatur Singh Two Star	Rajpal Sinha/Dr Jhatka
	Yeh Faasley	Devindar devilal Dua
	Pranayam	Achuthan Nair
	The Lion of Judah	Monty
	Mausam	Maharaj Krishna
	Desi Boyz	Suresh Awasthi
	Aagaah: The Warning	Pir Baba
	Speedy Singhs	Darvesh Singh
2012	Chaar Din Ki Chandni	Chandraveer Singh
	Parijatha
	Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum	Francis Marlo
	Mr. Bhatti on Chutti	BB Bhatti
	Chhodo Kal Ki Baatein	Benam Kumar
	Jab Tak Hai Jaan	Mr Thapar, Meera’s father
	Silver Linings Playbook	Dr. Cliff Patel
	Midnight’s Children	Ghani
2013	Kashala Udyachi Baat	Blind Man
	Mai	Doctor
	Krrish 3	Scientist
	Special 26	P.K. Sharma aka Sharmaji
	Hum Hain Raahi Car Ke	Actor
	Chashme Baddoor	Double Role (Seema’s Father & Her Father’s Brother)
	Gori Tere Pyaar Mein	Latesh bhai
	Mahabharat	Shakuni
	Yamla Pagla Deewana 2	Joginder Armstrong
2014	Kalimannu	Anupam
	Welcome Back Gandhi	Chief Minister
	Total Siyapaa	Asha’s Father
	Gang of Ghosts	Gendamal
	Main Tera Hero	Vikrant Singhal
	Shongram	Old Karim
	Singham Returns	Gurukant “Guruji” Acharya
	Daawat-e-Ishq	Mr. Qadir
	Nayana	Nayana’s Muttachan
	Ekkees Toppon Ki Salaami	Purushotam Narayan Joshi
	Happy New Year	Manohar Sharma
	Super Nani	Mr. Sammy
	The Shaukeens	Laali
	Sonali Cable	Boss-Waghela
2015	Baby	Om Prakash Shukla/Shuklaji
	Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene	D.K. Thawani
	Roy	Mr.Grewal
		C.B.I. Chief
	Prem Ratan Dhan Payo	Diwan Saheb/Bapu
2016	Buddha In A Traffic Jam	Professor Jamshed Batki or Ranjan Batki
		Dr. Savraj Singh
	M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story	Pan Singh Dhoni
	Saat Uchakkey	Diwan
2017	The Big Sick	Azmat Nanjiani
	Naam Shabana	Om Prakash Shukla/Shuklaji
	Indu Sarkar	Nana Pradhan
	Toilet: Ek Prem Katha	Dinanath Joshi/”Dj Kakka”
	Judwaa 2	Balraj Bakshi
	Ranchi Diaries	Thakur Bhaiyaa
	The Boy With The Topknot	Shathnam’s Father
2018	Aiyaary	Tariq Ali
	Baa Baaa Black Sheep	Charudutt Sharma/Charlie
	Hotel Mumbai	Hemant Oberoi
2019	The Accidental Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
	One Day: Justice Delivered	Retired Judge
2021	The Kashmir Files

Public recognition

Kher’s career improved in 1989, when he received wider recognition for his performances in Ram Lakhan, a thriller by Subhash Ghai, and Daddy, a television film that reunited him with Bhatt. The former co-starred an ensemble cast including Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff, Dimple Kapadia, Raakhee, Satish Kaushik, Amrish Puri and Paresh Rawal, and featured Kher in the supporting part of Deodhar Shastri, a man who disapproves his daughter’s marriage with her childhood friend who is also her love interest. Ram Lakhan proved to be the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year with a gross of over ₹326 million (US$4.6 million) worldwide. The latter earned him universal acclaim, with several critics calling it his best performance at that point. Both Daddy and Ram Lakhan earned Kher several awards; for the former, he won a National Film Award – Special Mention and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance; and for the latter, he garnered his first Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role (shared with Kaushik), also known as the Filmfare Award for Best Comedian.

Later in 1989, Kher starred in a sequel to the 1986 fantasy film Nagina, entitled Nigahen: Nagina Part II. Co-starring alongside Sridevi and Sunny Deol, he portrayed a snake charmer named Gorakh Nath. It did not perform well at the box office. He then appeared in a cameo for Yash Chopra’s love triangle Chandni, and portrayed a police inspector in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s action film Parinda alongside Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff and Nana Patekar. Despite received a poor opening, Parinda was a critical and commercial success. Kher’s final film of the year was Pankaj Parashar’s slapstick comedy ChaalBaaz alongside Sridevi, Deol, and Rajinikanth. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, ChaalBaaz emerged as an economic success.

In 1990, Kher portrayed the antagonistic role of Hazari Prasad, a miser who tries to find a rich woman to marry his poor son, in Indra Kumar’s directorial debut—the romance Dil, co-starring Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit. Dil received positive reviews from critics, and Kher’s performance was praised. With domestic revenues of over ₹180 million (US$2.5 million), Dil was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year, and Kher received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at Filmfare for his work.

In 1991, Kher once again received acclaim for his work in Yash Chopra’s romantic drama Lamhe, which starred Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in lead roles and featured him as Kapoor’s childhood friend. Lamhe was a box office failure in India, but was an overseas success. Despite the film’s poor performance at the box office, Kher won his second Filmfare Best Comedian Award for his performance.

The following year, Kher collaborated with Anil Kapoor for the fifth time (alongside Madhuri Dixit and Aruna Irani) in Indra Kumar’s drama Beta (1992), the top-grossing Bollywood production of the year with a worldwide gross of ₹235 million (US$3.3 million). His comical performance in the film earned him another nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Comedian. Later that year, he portrayed Dixit’s uncle in the drama Khel, which earned him a third and a second consecutive Filmfare Best Comedian Award.

Kher next reunited with Yash Chopra for the romantic thriller Darr (1993), co-starring Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, and Sunny Deol, in which he starred as Chawla’s brother. One of the top-grossing Hindi films of the year, it earned over ₹200 million (US$2.8 million) worldwide, and garnered Kher a fourth and a third consecutive Best Comedian at Filmfare. In addition to other awards, it won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.

In 1994, Kher portrayed the owner of a factory in Raj Kanwar’s thriller Laadla alongside Sridevi, Anil Kapoor, Aruna Irani, Raveena Tandon and Farida Jalal. It received mixed reviews from critics, though became commercially successful, and grossed over ₹110 million (US$1.5 million) worldwide. Greater success came to Kher later that year when he starred alongside Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in Sooraj R. Barjatya’s romance Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, which became the highest-grossing Bollywood film at that point, with global revenues of over ₹1.85 billion (US$26 million). He eventually earned another Best Supporting Actor nomination at Filmfare, and the film proved his second consecutive movie to win the National Film Award for Best Popular Film.

Kher’s only release in 1995 was Aditya Chopra’s romantic drama Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, about two non-residential Indians who fall in love during a trip across Europe. Kher’s work as Dharamvir, the father of Khan’s character, fetched him a fifth Filmfare Best Comedian Award. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge emerged as his second consecutive film to earn over ₹1 billion (US$14 million) worldwide, becoming a blockbuster just like Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, and third consecutive film to win the National Film Award for Best Popular Film. His next two films were the box office flops Chaahat (1996) and Gudgudee (1997). In both these films, Kher’s performance was not well received.

He next starred alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, and Archana Puran Singh in Karan Johar’s romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). In this film, Kher played the comic role of Mr. Malhotra, a college principal. It was the top-grossing film of the year, with a worldwide gross of over ₹1.07 billion (US$15 million), to become Kher’s third blockbuster success in the last four years, and garnered him another Best Comedian nomination at Filmfare.

In 1999, Kher played the father of Anil Kapoor’s character in Satish Kaushik’s women-centric drama Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, that received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success. He then teamed with David Dhawan for the comedy-drama Haseena Maan Jaayegi starring Sanjay Dutt, Govinda and Karisma Kapoor. Both these films were major commercial successes and among the highest-grossing Bollywood films of 1999, with the latter earning over ₹361 million (US$5.1 million).

Personal life

In 1985, he married actress Kirron Kher who is a Member of parliament from Chandigarh, belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Her son, his stepson, is actor Sikandar Kher. In 2010, he was appointed as the goodwill ambassador of the Pratham Education Foundation, which strives to improve children’s education in India. Kher is an ardent supporter of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi. He speaks and spreads a positive message about Kashmir and Kashmiri Pandits. 

Filmfare Awards

Year	Film	Category	Result
1984	Saaransh	Best Actor	Won
1986	Janam	Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
1988	Vijay	Best Supporting Actor	Won
1989	Ram Lakhan	Best Comedian	Won
1990	Daddy	Best Actor (Critics)	Won
1991	Lamhe	Best Comedian	Won
	Dil	Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
1992	Khel	Best Comedian	Won
	Saudagar	Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
1993	Darr	Best Comedian	Won
1994	Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!	Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
1995	Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge	Best Comedian	Won
1997	Chaahat	Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
2013	Special 26	Best Supporting Actor	Nominated

National Film Awards

Year	Film	Category	Result
1990	Daddy	Special Jury Award	Won
2005	Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara		Won