The Munnabhai MBBS actor took a punt past 40 when he went from behind the camera to face it. Then, at 53, he broke into the big league
I do a lot of movies. I have done 63 movies in under 10 years. That’s a hell of a lot. And the reason why I could do it is that I am not a lead actor, which means that my work in a film is 15-20 days’ work, while a lead actor will work for about 45 days. That way, I can do more films but I am cutting down on it.
Anupam Kher is all there but I am still not on screen. There is this famous character in The Third Man called Harry Lime played by Orson Welles. He comes in the last 20 minutes of the film but in the whole movie they are talking about who is Harry Lime. It is like Gabbar Singh. Gabbar aisa hai, Gabbar waisa hai [Gabbar this, Gabbar that]…finally when Gabbar comes you are s***ting in your pants. You have not seen him, you have not seen the newcomer, you have just seen his legs but you are s***ting. Why? Because the writer has set him up brilliantly. Similarly, in Khosla ka Ghosla…you talk about him and then finally he puts his hand on Anupam Kher’s shoulder and says, “Uncleji…”. Whoa, he has come! That is the greatest thing.
(This story appears in the 08 February, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)