Veteran actor, Anupam Kher has had a career spanning over four decades in the entertainment industry. However, he has faced his challenges and rejections in his life. The 69-year-old actor has made over 500 movies since his 1984 debut, Saaransh. Life was never a cakewalk for the star, who had his share of rejections.
The thespian has always pushed himself harder and has proved to his naysayers that he is not in any mood to retire. In an interview with the Screen, Anupam Kher remembered how rejected and depressed he was when he was in Mumbai. It was 1983, and the actor had no money to pay, and the rent was overdue for more than three months. He recollected:
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"It was me, my brother, mother and two friends in one room and the landlord kept our luggage outside. I had to pay him Rs 2,100 by evening. I remember sleeping on the beach on a newspaper, because there was no place to stay."
Anupam had continued that a producer lived in a hotel in Mumbai. He had agreed to give the actor the signing amount, but the condition was that he would narrate the story, and Anupam had to act upon the lines. The actor said:
"Now, I am an educated actor, but the story was atrocious. I realised while he was narrating it, that he wants me to act out the lines. So, if the line is about rains, I had to pretend it is raining, gushing winds, I had to pretend I am being blown. He would get the bundle of money near me– and as I tried to take it, pull it away. This was the humiliation."
The Ram Lakhan actor, a drama school medalist, revealed further in the interview that he had lost hair when he was 28. He had nothing to lose. However, when he visited offices, he was reminded of his baldness. The senior actor was often told that nothing could be done about his gold medal as he did not have hair. He was also told to become a writer or an assistant director. However, time stood in his favour, and the Darr actor bagged Saaransh.
The actor, agreed that the Hindi film industry has an age barrier and mediocrity is widely celebrated. When he entered the film industry in 1984, masses were horrified that a young 28-year-old boy had played the role of a 65-year-old man. Anupam had faith that if he pulled off the role, then he would survive in the industry for the next 40 years. In his words:
"There are barriers of ‘hero, heroines’ and you have to break those barriers by being confident. You need to have no fear of failures. It is fear which makes you mediocre."
Anupam Kher's days of struggle weren't a bed of roses. What do you think?
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