My life is not dependent on a review: Anupam Kher
One of the few Indian actors who has found substantial roles in projects abroad, Anupam Kher has the ability to take up a character and play it onscreen like no one else can. And this is why he’s a favourite with critics, too.
But how important are critic reviews for him — does he read them, does he get happy or upset when they are good or bad? “It depends on what the intention is,” says the 64-yearold, “I’ve done so much work, but of course, you like to read an honest, unbiased review of your performance. Main yeh nahi kehta ki ‘Mujhe farak nahi padta’, it does upset you. I’m a human being, it bothers, takleef hoti hai. But my life is not dependent on it. If I’m in a film and I get a good review, it does not make me happy, and if I’m good in the film and it’s a bad review, it doesn’t make me unhappy.”
Anupam will next be seen in a Hindi film with The Kashmir Files, which will be directed by Vivek Agnihotri. “It’s a film about Kashmiri Pandits,” he says, “and the whole world tried to hide that, the genocide, the people tried to sort of bury it. The truth needs to come out. They were massacred, killed, women were raped, it’s important for it to come out. I was looking for a truthful depiction of the story. So far, no one made it. It was important to make a film on it.”
What is also keeping Anupam occupied is his show New Amsterdam, in its second season, which has now been picked up for another three seasons. Ecstatic at the development, he tells us, “The show deals with hope, aspirations, the medical system, and speaks on behalf of the common people... it is also about diversity and compassion, and that connected with the audience in a big way. One thing is to look at TV actors on screen and recognise the character, and now when I meet people on streets (they know my name too)... it’s not only me being one face on TV! Apart from that, the performance and production level is very good, and the TRPs are fantastic. People have said it doesn’t happen very easily that a show is picked up for three seasons. The only other show which got it was This Is Us.”
It depends on what the intention is... I’ve done so much work, but you like to read an honest, unbiased review of your performance.
ANUPAM KHER ACTOR
Rishabh Suri