I have done 540 films in 40 years, it’s like a triathlon: Anupam Kher

When asked what advice he would give his younger self, Kher replied “My first film, Saaransh, was with Mahesh Bhatt. I had been rehearsing for six months and just 10 days before the shoot, I was told I’d been replaced by Sanjeev Kumar because I was a newcomer. I was horrified and decided to leave the city. But before heading to the station, I remembered my grandfather’s words: 'When you don’t expect anything from anyone, you are equal.' I went to Bhatt sahab’s house, and I told him, 'You are the biggest fraud on earth. You’re making a film about truth, but you don’t have truth in you. I’ve worked six months on this, and no one can do it like I can.' I cursed him and was about to leave when he called me back, saying, 'I don’t think I can do this film with anyone else.' He then called Rajshree Productions, and the rest is history. I’m still the same man, with the same hunger to prove I can do it."

When asked if there was any goal or dream he still hoped to achieve in his career, Kher responded, “There’s a line in the trailer of our film that says, 'Dreams have no expiry date.' I have been very lucky to be part of so many amazing films—not just in India, but also internationally, like Bend It Like Beckham, Silver Linings Playbook, Hotel Mumbai, my series New Amsterdam, and The Big Sick. I have been really fortunate to be involved in such high-profile projects. I just want to do a walk-on role in a Clint Eastwood film. I did a film with Woody Allen, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, where I had just three scenes. I remember something really interesting about the first shot: Freida Pinto was in it, and Woody was explaining to his director how the camera would move. He said, ‘The camera starts here, captures this moment, then you move over here, then you go to this couple, and finally, you end up on Freida Pinto.’ After the shot was done, the cameraman said, 'I missed so many people in this scene.' And he smiled and added, 'That’s what I liked about it. It’s about life—how you miss so many people.' So, if I ever get a chance to stand in a Clint Eastwood film, that would be wonderful."

When asked if someone had offered him this role 30 years ago, would he have taken it, Kher replied, "To take away the physical aspect of it, it would have been easier because I was 30 years younger. But symbolically, I’ve been running a triathlon for the last 40 years. I have done 540 films in 40 years, so it’s been like a triathlon, I have been running—and I’m not stopping. I ran my triathlon when I was 28, playing a 65-year-old man in Saaransh, my first film. So, I have been running, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, but always pushing forward."