Anupam Kher is an Indian actor, director, and producer who was born on March 7, 1955. His primary genre of work is Hindi cinema. Known as one of the best performers in Indian film, he has portrayed many different characters, including several highly regarded main or supporting parts. Among his honours are eight Filmfare Awards and two National Film Awards. For his contributions to Indian film and the arts, the Indian government awarded him the Padma Shri in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016.
In Shimla, Anupam Kher was born into a family of Kashmiri Pandits. His mother, Dulari Kher, was a homemaker, while his father, Pushkar Nath Kher, worked as a clerk in the Himachal Pradesh forest department. He attended Shimla's D. A. V. School for his education. He enrolled at Himachal Pradesh University at Shimla's Government College, Sanjauli to study economics, but left to pursue his studies in Indian theatre at Panjab University in Chandigarh. Anupam Kher received his diploma from the National School of Drama in New Delhi in 1978. He played a few supporting roles in plays at the University of Himachal Pradesh in the past. He had a brief role as a theatre teacher at Raj Bisaria's Bharatendu Natya Akademi in Lucknow during the filming of his feature debut, Sheeshay ka Ghar.
Career In Acting
In the drama film Saaransh, directed by Mahesh Bhatt in 1984, Anupam Kher made his screen debut as an actor. In the film, he played a 65-year-old retired middle class teacher who loses his son. Despite Kher receiving a lot of accolades for his portrayal, the movie was just a middling box office success. For his depiction of the old father, he was recognised with several honours, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Anupam Kher claimed that because he had lost his hair at an early age, his first assignment at the age of 29 was portraying a 65-year-old.
He carried on working on many additional projects between 1985 and 1988. Despite the fact that they were all just somewhat successful, his acting in them was not highly regarded. But Kher received a lot of praise for his role as Shyam Lal, a dad whose daughter is made to dance for him, in N. Chandra's action thriller Tezaab (1988), which costarred Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor and was the highest grossing movie of the year. Later in 1988, he won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his well-received performance in the critically panned Vijay.
Anupam Kher made his acting debut in the drama film Saaransh (1984), directed by Mahesh Bhatt. This was Kher's breakout role; the part received him accolades from all quarters and the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his depiction of the elderly father. He has since played a number of supporting parts. Even in supporting parts in films like ChaalBaaz (1989), Tezaab (1988), and Karma (1986), he received a lot of praise. For his performance, Vijay was given the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. For his comedic roles in 1989, Ram Lakhan earned the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comedic Role and, moreover, gained widespread recognition. For his film Daddy, he got the National Film Award – Special Jury Award as well as the Filmfare Critics Award.
Private Life
In 1979, Kher wed the actress Madhumalti Kapoor; however, they divorced a short while after. He wed the BJP member Kirron Kher, an actress and member of parliament from Chandigarh, in 1985. Sikandar Kher, an actor, is her stepson. He was chosen in 2010 to serve as the Pratham Education Foundation's goodwill ambassador. The organisation works to enhance children's education in India. Kher is a devoted follower of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Hindu University of America granted Kher an honorary doctorate degree in Philosophy of Hindu Studies on September 20, 2021.