It looks like an unofficial retrospective of Anupam Kher’s films,” the actor and filmmaker chuckles, as he is overcome with pride of having four of his works — 1942: A Love Story (1994), Tanvi: The Great, The Bengal Files, and the drama Calorie — screened at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). “Calorie is a heart-touching story directed by Eisha Marjara. There is also a personal angle in it, which makes the film different,” says Kher.
Calorie, which also released in Canada, follows a Sikh-Canadian family forced to confront past traumas and secrets after its two granddaughters, visit India for a vacation. For Kher, the film became an unmissable opportunity to collaborate with an ensemble cast featuring Dolly Ahluwalia, Ellora Patnaik, Shanaya Dhillon-Birmhan, and Ashley Ganger. “Dolly was my junior in the National School of Drama. She is a terrific actor. So are the Canadian girls in the cast and crew,” he adds.
With a career spanning four decades, marked by pop-culture milestones and multiple awards, Kher insists he has no intention of slowing down. “Very few people get to do what they have been wanting to do all their life. I don’t take that fact for granted. Other people spend their lives; I live my life. When you are thankful to everything that is happening to you, you put your life in it. For me, relaxation is doing an intense scene,” says the actor, who has just signed his 550th film and is preparing for Khosla Ka Ghosla 2, which begins shooting next month.
His 41-year journey, however, has been far from easy. Kher recalls arriving in Mumbai with barely R37 in his pocket and not knowing if he would ever find work. “When I walked into this city on June 3, 1981, I never thought that I would make it. [Not even] for the next three years when I was looking for work. I was not exactly God’s gift to mankind in the looks department. But I am an eternal optimist,” he smiles.
That optimism shaped his choices, leading him to treat every part as a lead performance. “Even when I wasn’t playing lead roles, I treated them as lead characters.”
In the past seven years, he has consciously chosen films where he leads the narrative. “I don’t carry the burden of Anupam Kher on my shoulders.” Alongside acting, he is developing his next directorial after Tanvi: The Great.
The original cast of ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’ (2006), including Parvinn Dabass, Ranvir Shorey, Vinay Pathak, and Boman Irani, including new addition Tanya Maniktala, will reunite for the sequel. Directed by Prashant Bhagia, the film is expected to go on floors this December