Anupam Kher calls Mahesh Bhatt's letter 'most beautiful certificate' for his 42 years in cinema

Mumbai, Nov 12 (PTI) Anupam Kher on Thursday shared a heartfelt letter from filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt reflecting on the actor's 42-year journey in cinema, saying the message left him deeply moved and felt like a special acknowledgement of his work from the person who first introduced him to films.

    Kher shared Bhatt's letter on his social media pages, thanking the filmmaker for believing in him and supporting him since his debut with the 1984 film "Saaransh".

    "I am the happiest man on earth today," Kher wrote in his response, adding that Bhatt's message had arrived unexpectedly and left him overwhelmed with gratitude.

    "It was like receiving the most beautiful certificate for 42 years of work - and the warmest acknowledgement from the person who first opened the doors of cinema for me," he said.

    Kher said Bhatt is not just the director of his first film as an actor but also a "mentor, my friend and my teacher" in his life.

    "To receive these words from one of the finest directors, writers and authors of our country means more to me than I can express," he wrote.

    In his letter, titled "From B. V. Pradhan in Saaransh to Jatayu in Ramayana", Bhatt traced Kher's journey from playing the elderly father in Bhatt's directorial debut to voicing Jatayu in Nitesh Tiwari's "Ramayana: Rise of a Legend".

    "From B. V. Pradhan in Saaransh to Jatayu in Ramayana - what a journey. The rise and the rise and the rise of you. I am so happy for you," the filmmaker wrote.

    Bhatt also recalled meeting Kher during a visit to Sweden and said he noticed a change in the actor's confidence and demeanour.

    "You look different. I saw the way you shook hands with people-your whole hand, your whole attention given to the person in front of you. You have never looked so sure of yourself, and so free of yourself."

    The filmmaker said the experience took him back to a scene from "Saaransh" that had stayed with him over the years. In the film, Kher played B V Pradhan, a retired schoolteacher grieving the death of his son.

    "It took me back to that old woman in the park in 'Saaransh'. Pradhan has let go of his son Ajay's ashes, and there she is, playing with the children. The way you looked at her. That was your Buddha moment. Life had struck you, and something of that moment has stayed in your eyes, your body, your heart. I saw it again in Sweden," he wrote.

    Bhatt also revisited the early days of their association, recalling a conversation between the 28-year-old Kher and the 34-year-old filmmaker at his home in Mumbai's Pali Hill.

    "I keep thinking of that 28-year-old actor and that 34-year-old filmmaker talking in the compound of my home in Pali Hill. What did we give each other that day? I don't know. I could never have imagined all that would follow," he wrote.

    The filmmaker concluded by saying Kher's journey had brought him immense happiness and that the actor's success could inspire others who dream of making it in the film industry.

    "I feel the happiness of someone who once held your hand and now watches you go where I could never have taken you. And somewhere, a boy from the hinterland will see you and dare to come here with his own impossible dream," Bhatt wrote.

    Responding to the letter, Kher said he would continue striving to do work that made the filmmaker proud.

    "Thank you for believing in me, for seeing my journey with such generosity, and for being such an important part of my life. I will keep striving to do work that makes you proud - and perhaps earn a letter like this from you every now and then," he wrote.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)