Anupam Kher is a firm believer in coincidences. His recently released autobiography—Lessons Life Taught Me, Unknowingly—was developed from an autobiographical, one-man play the actor had called Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai, some six years ago. Yet, he sounds a little taken aback when his attention is drawn to yet another piece of happenstance.
Kher’s first film, Saaransh, was released in May 1984. He was 28 when he played a 65-year-old retired school teacher who has to come to terms with the death of his son. For the role, which got him his first award (Filmfare for best actor), Kher channelled his beloved grandfather Pandit Amar Nath Kher. “In fact, I internally dedicated Saaransh to him. Before every shot, I would say to myself: ‘This is for you, Babuji,’” Kher writes. Amar Nath Kher died in September 1984 at the age of 84. “I never thought about this coincidence,” says Kher, over the phone from New York.
Kher, a two-time national awardee with more than 500 films to his credit, is also an active thespian. A recipient of the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan, he was also chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification. Kher was appointed as chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India in 2017, but resigned in 2018 to honour “international commitments”. (Some whispered it could also be the result of his politics translating into a more pro-government stance.)
How has he distilled his multifariously successful career in an autobiography? Through inspirational quotes and platitudes, and they are aplenty. He wanted his book to be “inspirational”, and not just an account of his life. “I wanted my life to be a reference point for people who want to make it,” he says. “And I want to tell them there is no godfather. It is the attitude towards life that makes you big.”
Kher sees a lot of similarities between himself and the life and struggles of people like Maxim Gorky and Charlie Chaplin. And he wants you to know he is funny. “I look at life in a comical sense,” he says, and lists the many lows he has overcome, perhaps with the same sense of humour. “Like when I was an actor without work in Bombay, when I had a paralytic attack during the making of Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, when I was disillusioned by Arvind Kejriwal...” his voice trails off.
More recently, the veteran actor has been in news for his political views. From questioning the patriotism of other actors to his disapproval of artists signing letters and petitions against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. His confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, delivered as an impassioned speech on March 6, 2016 at an event organised by The Telegraph in Kolkata, has been reproduced with much pride in a chapter on Kashmir titled ‘Exiled in our own land’.
“I would like to go back to Kashmir,” he says. “I have important memories there. I am very happy that Article 370 is removed now and we can go back. At some stage or the other, the whole India can buy property in Kashmir so that we can bring in some kind of normalcy there.”
LESSONS LIFE TAUGHT ME, UNKNOWINGLY: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
By Anupam Kher
Publisher: Hay House
Pages: 432, Price: Rs699
