Q&A WITH ANUPAM KHER
Come August, Anupam Kher’s autobiography, Lessons Life Taught Me Unknowingly, is going to hit the stands. The actor insists it will inspire many
Q. Of all the lessons that life taught you unknowingly, which ones have proved the most important?
Don’t take yourself seriously and, more importantly, failure is always an event, never a person.
Q. Revisiting the past can be troubling. Did working on your autobiography ever leave you upset?
Nostalgia is always bittersweet. When you look back and think about your first kiss and first play, you do smile, but that smile is tinged with some sadness too. None of that time is going to come back.
Q. Have you made any explosive revelations? Should we prepare ourselves for controversy?
My truth must not be someone else’s discomfort. I have tried my level best to not blame people for my setbacks. For a couple of my relationships, however, I have changed names because the people I speak of are still around. In the end, this book tells my truth, not someone else’s.
Q. You’ve acted in over 530 films. When you look back, which feel more special?
I don’t look back. Life is not to be analysed, it’s to be lived.
Q. You have strong political opinions. Do you sometimes worry they might make you lose fans?
When you are telling the truth, you gain fans. You cannot be popular with the whole world. Even Gandhi wasn’t. You need to live a life that brings you respect, not popularity. Before I live with people, I have to live with my convictions. I would like everyone to love me, but that’s not humanly possible. Even as an actor, there were people who didn’t like me, but I’ve remained proud of the life I’ve lived.