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Anupam Kher

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Anupam Kher
Kher in 2013
Born (1955-03-07) 7 March 1955 (age 69)
Simla, PEPSU, India
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
WorksFull list
OfficeChairman of the Film and Television Institute of India
Term11 October 2017 – 31 October 2018
PredecessorGajendra Chauhan
SuccessorB. P. Singh
Spouses
Madhumalti Kapoor
​
​
(m. 1978, separated)​
​
(m. 1985)​
ChildrenSikandar Kher (stepson)
RelativesRaju Kher (brother)
AwardsFull list
Websitewww.anupamkherfoundation.org

Anupam Kher (born 7 March 1955) is an Indian actor, director and producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, he has acted in more than 540 films. A veteran of Indian cinema,[1] Kher is recipient of two National Film Awards and eight Filmfare Awards for his acting performances.[2] Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution to Indian cinema and arts.

Kher made his acting debut with Mahesh Bhatt-directed drama film Saaransh (1984), which marked Kher's breakthrough role, earning him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of an elderly father. Since then he starred in several other supporting roles. He was highly appreciated in negative roles in films such as Karma (1986), Tezaab (1988) and ChaalBaaz (1989). For Vijay (1988), he won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance. In 1989, Ram Lakhan garnered him wider recognition for his comic performances and won him Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role and for Daddy, he won a National Film Award – Special Jury Award and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. In later years, Kher was nominated for Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Dil (1990), Saudagar (1991), Lamhe (1991), Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994), Chaahat (1996), Special 26 (2013) and Uunchai (2022).[3] He was nominated in the category of Filmfare Award for Best Comedian for films, such as Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (1991), Shola Aur Shabnam (1992), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge (2000), and won for Khel (1992), Darr (1993) and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995).[4]

Kher's other acclaimed roles include Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006), Buddha Mar Gaya (2006), A Wednesday! (2008), Baby (2015), M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) and The Kashmir Files (2022); for which he received a nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Actor category.[5] 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 NC-17 rated Lust, Caution (2007), David O. Russell's Oscar-winning Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and Anthony Maras' Hotel Mumbai (2019). He received a BAFTA nomination for his supporting role in the British television film The Boy with the Topknot (2018).[6]

He has previously served as the Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification and the National School of Drama in India.[7] Kher was appointed Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in October 2017.[8] His appointment was controversial, given his support for the Bharatiya Janata Party.[9][10][11][12] A year later, he resigned as the chairman of the FTII, citing his work commitments for the American TV show New Amsterdam.[13]

Early life and background

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Anupam Kher was born on 7 March 1955 in Simla, in the Patiala and East Punjab States Union of India (now in Himachal Pradesh) into a Kashmiri Pandit family.[14][15] His father, Pushkar Nath Kher was a clerk in the forest department of Himachal Pradesh and his mother, Dulari Kher was a housewife.[16][17] He was educated at D. A. V. School in Shimla.[18] He studied economics at Government College, Sanjauli at the Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla, but dropped out to study Indian theatre at Panjab University, Chandigarh.[19]

In 1978, Kher graduated from the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi.[7] Some of his early roles were in plays performed at the Himachal Pradesh University.[20] He taught drama in Raj Bisaria's Bharatendu Natya Akademi in Lucknow for a small part in his directorial debut movie Sheeshay ka Ghar.[9][21] In his struggling days as an actor in Bombay (present-day Mumbai), he slept on a railway platform for a month.[22]

Acting career

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Further information: Anupam Kher filmography

Debut and early career (1984–1988)

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Anupam Kher made his acting debut in 1984 with Mahesh Bhatt's drama film Saaransh.[23] It didn't performed well commercially, but was a huge critical success and was chosen as India's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[24][25] Kher received widespread acclaim for his portraying a 60 year old man trying to come to terms with the loss of his only son and won his first and only Filmfare Award for Best Actor.[26] The following year, however, none of his films performed well critically or commercially with Rahul Rawail's action drama Arjun co-starring Sunny Deol and Dimple Kapadia being the exception.[27] This changed in 1986 when he co-starred alongside Amitabh Bachchan in K. Bhagyaraj's crime drama Aakhree Raasta and played the ruthless villain "Dr. Michael Dang" in Subhash Ghai's ensemble actioner Karma, which had Dilip Kumar, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Sridevi in the lead.[28][29] While the former was a hit, Karma went on to become a blockbuster and Kher got noticed by the audience.[30][31] The same year, he played supporting role in another major commercial success, which was - Insaaf Ki Awaaz.[30]

In 1987, he appeared alongside Rekha and Raj Babbar in T. Rama Rao's family drama Sansar, which was a commercially successful venture.[32] In 1988, he played negative roles in films, such as Hatya, Zakhmi Aurat and Tezaab.[33][34] Out of these releases, Hatya and Zakhmi Aurat were semi-hits, while the lattermost went many steps ahead and emerged a blockbuster as well as the highest earning film of that year.[35] Kher's other notable release of 1988, Vijay failed at the box office, but won him his first and only Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.[36]

Breakthrough, public recognition and awards success (1989–2001)

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After many years of lukewarm critical and commercial success, Kher became a household name in 1989 when he starred in Subhash Ghai's masala film Ram Lakhan, Rajiv Rai's action drama Tridev, Yash Chopra's romantic musical Chandni, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's crime drama Parinda and Pankaj Parashar's comedy drama ChaalBaaz. All the films proved to be critically and commercially successful, especially Ram Lakhan, Tridev and Chandni, all three of which backed up with chartbuster music, emerged blockbusters at the box office and were among the top five highest grossing films of the year.[37][38] Apart from commercial projects, Kher also collaborated with Mahesh Bhatt for the art-house television film Daddy, which like their previous collaboration Saaransh met with immense acclaim and won Kher his first National Film Award – Special Jury Award as well as Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics).[39][40] The following year, he starred in Indra Kumar's blockbuster romantic comedy Dil, which had Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lead roles.[41] For his performance of a greedy father in Dil, Kher received his third nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor category.[26] In 1991, he appeared in highly successful films, including Saudagar, Saathi, Hum and Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin.[42] He also collaborated with Yash Chopra for the romantic drama Lamhe, which was a commercial failure, but received positive reception from critics and is now considered a cult classic.[43][44] Kher's performances in Saudagar and Lamhe earned him nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor category.[45]

His other box office hits of this period, include Beta (1992), Shola Aur Shabnam (1992), Lootere (1993), Waqt Hamara Hai (1993), Khalnayak (1993), Hum Hain Kamaal Ke (1993), Gumrah (1993) and Darr (1993).[46][47] He then appeared in Sooraj Barjatya's Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994) and Aditya Chopra's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995).[48][49] Both the films did extremely well at the box office and emerged massive blockbusters as well as the 1st and 2nd highest grossing film of all time, respectively.[50][51] For his performance in the former, Kher received another nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor category.

Other works

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Kher 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). From October 2003 to October 2004, he served as chairman of the Indian Film Censor Board.[52]

In 2011 Kher released his first book The Best Thing About You is You!, which was a best-seller. His biography Lessons Life Taught Me Unknowingly was published on 5 August 2019 by Penguin Random House. In 2020, he wrote Your Best Day Is Today!, based on his experiences of the COVID-19 crisis.[53][54][55][56] Remembering his father on his 9th death anniversary, he presented a poem written by Lucknow-based Poet Pankaj Prasun and posted it on social media.[57]

Kher hosted TV shows such as Say Na Something To Anupam Uncle, Sawaal Dus Crore Ka and Lead India. In 2014, 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.[20][58] In 2016, Anupam Kher was a narrator in the ABP News documentary TV series Bharatvarsh,[59][60] which showcased the journey from ancient India to the 19th century.[61][62][63] In late 2016, Anupam Kher produced Khwaabon Ki Zamin Par, a TV drama airing on Zindagi.[64]

Starting in fall of 2018, Anupam Kher starred in NBC medical drama TV series New Amsterdam[65] as Dr. Vijay Kapoor (a neurologist). He also appeared as Shahbaz Karim in the BBC1 drama Mrs Wilson.[66] Kher is the founder of Actor Prepares, an acting institute based in Mumbai.[67]

Personal life

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Kher married actress Madhumalti Kapoor in 1979, but separated after a few years.[68] In 1985, he married actress Kirron Kher[69] who is a Member of Parliament from Chandigarh, belonging to the BJP.[70][71] Her son, his stepson, is actor Sikandar Kher.[72] In 2010, he was appointed as the goodwill ambassador of the Pratham Education Foundation, which strives to improve children's education in India.[73] Kher is an ardent supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.[9][74][75]

On 20 September 2021, Kher was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in Philosophy of Hindu Studies by the Hindu University of America.[76]

Awards and honours

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Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Anupam Kher

References

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  1. ^ "Been there, done that! Anupam Kher starts shooting for 501st film". The Economic Times. IANS. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  2. ^ "Anupam Kher Awards: List of awards and nominations received by Anupam Kher". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 April 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  3. ^ "7 Greatest Films of Anupam Kher".
  4. ^ "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (there goes the bride)". Indian Film Festival, The Hague. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Anupam Kher: I have always been the face of change; the problem is that the world has only now acknowledged it". 20 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Anupam Kher bags BAFTA Awards 2018 nomination for The Boy with the Topknot; Here's the Complete List". Indiatvnews. 4 April 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b "NSD Graduates" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Anupam Kher appointed FTII chairman". The Economic Times. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  9. ^ a b c Bamzai, Kaveree (31 July 2019). "The double life of Anupam Kher: Hollywood's favourite desi & BJP's pin-up patriot". The Print. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
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  11. ^ "Why Anupam Kher's Appointment As FTII Chairman Is Problematic". HuffPost India. 12 October 2017. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
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  14. ^ Sundaram, Lasyapriya (10 March 2017). "Robert De Niro made Anupam Kher's birthday special". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
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  30. ^ a b "Trade Guide Classification".
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  32. ^ "Trade Guide Classification 1987".
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  54. ^ "Anupam Kher presents his book 'Your Best Day Is Today!' to Ruskin Bond". The Indian Express. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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  64. ^ "Anupam Kher does a cameo in his debut TV production Khwaabon Ki Zamin Par". Hindustan Times. 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  65. ^ "NBC picks Anupam Kher's US TV show New Amsterdam for a full season". The Indian Express. 12 October 2018. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  66. ^ "Anupam Kher's British mini-series Mrs Wilson premieres on BBC One". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  67. ^ SNS (10 May 2022). "Anupam Kher's Actor Prepares select 25 youth from NGO for a special workshop to learn theatre". The Statesman. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  68. ^ Kumar, Ramesh (8 March 2023). "कहां हैं अनुपम खेर की पहली पत्नी? कई फिल्मों में किया काम, टूट चुकी है दूसरी शादी, अब जी रहीं ऐसी जिंदगी". News18 (in Hindi). Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  69. ^ "Anupam Kher shares wedding pic to wish wife Kirron Kher on anniversary, says 'loved the lived quality of our lives together'". Hindustan Times. 26 August 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  70. ^ "Anupam Kher on Kirron: I don't get to meet my wife much now". The Indian Express. 2 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  71. ^ Sawhney, Anubha (13 July 2002). "Anupam Kher: A retake of life's scenes". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  72. ^ "Sikandar Kher Reveals Why He Can't Ask Anupam Kher To 'Recommend His Name' For Films". NDTV.com. 7 March 2017. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  73. ^ "Anupam Kher's new role". movies.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  74. ^ "Don't mind being called 'chamcha' of Narendra Modi: Anupam Kher". Hindustan Times. 12 March 2016. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  75. ^ "Anupam Kher Meets Narendra Modi, Says PM's Vision for India is Reassuring". News18. July 2019. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  76. ^ "'Address me as Dr Kher': Proud Anupam Kher welcomes honorary doctorate by Hindu University of America". The Economic Times. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
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