Happy birthday, Anupam Kher: A look at his journey in the industry

Anupam Kher is one of the most versatile actors in the industry. In a career spanning almost four decades, he has starred in over 500 films. The National School of Drama alumnus has won several accolades for his powerful performances, including two National Film Awards and eight Filmfare Awards. In 2004, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri and with the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution to the field of Indian cinema and arts.

He made his acting debut with Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Saaransh’ (1984) and he was only 28 when he took on the role of a retired middle-class Maharashtrian man who had lost his son. Anupam won a number of awards for his role in the film, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

Anupam Kher’s career improved in the late 1980s. He received wider recognition for his performances in ‘Ram Lakhan’ and the TV film ‘Daddy’. Besides Bollywood, Anupam Kher has also done many internationally acclaimed films like ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ (2002), ‘Bride and Prejudice’ (2004), ‘The Mistress of Spices’ (2006), and ‘Lust, Caution’ (2007), and TV show ‘ER’. In 2012, he co-starred in the Academy Award-winning ‘Silver Linings Playbook’.

In the 1990s, Anupam Kher played numerous father roles in several iconic films, but he didn’t get categorized as ‘Babuji’. He played not only played the quirky and free-willed father, but he was also the master of playing the loving dad-but-villain.

Anupam’s career has been eventful with films, plays and TV. For the unversed, he is also an acting teacher and he runs an institute called Actor Prepares.

The veteran actor is known to be a fitness enthusiast. When not working for the big screen, he loves his time in the gym. Even though rarely, Anupam gives us a glimpse of his workout routine on Instagram to motivate his fans to start taking their health seriously.

In 2016, the ‘Special 26’ actor had expressed his gratitude towards some special people who ‘inspired’ him and were the driving force behind his motivated and fit self. They were actors Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan alongside nutritionist, Rujuta Diwekar. Not just them, Anupam Kher also thanked his trainer, Anthony Jadhav, whom he addressed as an ‘inspiration & hard task master.’

Anupam Kher was last seen in the comedy drama ‘Shiv Shastri Balboa’ (2023). He has numerous projects in the pipeline, including ‘Emergency’, ‘The Signature’, Metro In Dino’ and ‘The Vaccine War’.