Anupam Kher

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anupam Kher (Hindi: अनुपम खेर), born March 7, 1955, is an actor in Hindi films in India. He has acted in nearly 200 Bollywood films, and several English films.

1 Career
2 Personal life
3 Awards and recognition
4 Selected Filmography
5 External link

[edit] Career

He made his acting debut in the 1982 Hindi movie Aagman. He has also hosted TV shows such as Say Na Something To Anupam Uncle and Sawaal Dus Crore Ka. He has mainly done comic roles but has done many villain roles for which he got critical acclaim such as Karma (1986) where he played terrorist Dr. Dang. He was applauded for his performance in the film Daddy (1989). Considered one of his best performances, he received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Kher is a frequent winner in the Comedian category.

He ventured into directing with Om Jai Jagadish (2003) and is also a producer. He produced and starred in the film Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005). He received the Best Actor Award from the Karachi International Film Festival for his performance in the film.

Kher is known internationally with the films Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Bride and Prejudice (2004), his appearance on the hit TV show ER and most recently with The Mistress of Spices (2006).

He also served as the chairman of the Indian Film Censor Board until recently, when he was replaced by Sharmila Tagore. He is an alumnus of National School of Drama (1978 batch) and later became its director, between 2001 and 2004.

Perhaps it is this attitude that explains the steady evolvement of Anupam Kher, both as a person and as an actor over his nineteen years in the Indian film industry. Moving from very humble beginnings to acquire a gold medal at the National School of Drama, Anupam Kher started his career through the expression that mattered most to him - Theatre. He has always made time for the stage, having acted in more than a hundred plays including "Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai", which is currently being staged successfully all over the world.

However, there is no denying that Anupam Kher is a talent mainly associated with the silver screen. With three hundred films to his credit, some of which are irreplaceable in their performance and value, Anupam Kher has made an indelible impression in the minds of his audience as one of India 's finest actors. With Gurinder Chaddha's ' Bend it like Beckham' he has now forayed into the international arena with challenging projects at hand.

A man of many ambitions, 1994 saw the launch of his own entertainment company to provide the highest quality of cinema and television entertainment, and has produced some very popular and unusual programmes in the last ten years. He took an important step further by producing his first film 'Bariwali' that went on to receive rave reviews in the international press with invitations to ten international film festivals.The film was felicitated with the NETPAC Award for being the most outstanding Asian Film at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Best Feature Film Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Dipped in films, theatre and television, Anupam Kher's brush strokes give us a resplendent canvas that bears the weight of the Padmashree Award, bestowed upon him by the Govt. of India, and innumerable personal awards too. Not only has he to his credit the Special National Jury Award and the Actor of the Decade Award [Millennium Honours] among others, but he also happens to hold the record for being the only actor in the industry to have won eight Filmfare awards in a row.

And yet, Anupam Kher is more than just a success story with a celluloid image. He has always concerned himself with causes that kept him grounded and let him make a difference. He has taught special children for several years, is one of the founder members of People for Animals and has attended and organized numerous fund raising shows.

[edit] Personal life

He is married to actress Kiron Kher and has one son, Sikander Kher, who is an actor. His brother Raju Kher is also an actor who appeared in his directorial debut Om Jai Jagadish and Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara.