It was on June 3, 1981, that a man landed up in Mumbai chasing his dreams. "It is a coincidence, and a pleasant one at that, that 39 years later, I'm launching my website on the very same day," says Anupam Kher, just a day before the grand launch.
Anupam Kher is supremely active on social media, and could give any millennial (oh wait, it's Gen Z now, right?) a complex. When he's not sharing throwback pictures from film archives, he's hosting #AskAnupam sessions on Twitter inviting questions from fans across the globe. The lockdown, that seems to have affected different people differently, has made him realise that "people need to be motivated". Which is what encouraged him to release one of his classic plays, Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai on his website. "We had recorded the play two years back during a live performance, because it is important not only from a creative point of view, but personally too. It's my autobiography, I have been doing this play for the past 15 years. This seemed like the perfect time to release it," said Kher.
Kher will even tell you repeatedly, with almost a childlike excitement, that "it's a good-looking website" and that he's had "some of the best people work on it". He wants it to be a platform that will house all his works. "I will release Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara, Ranchi Diaries and all the works I have produced and will also invite others to showcase theirs," he adds, without divulging further details on that part.
It was on the 3rd of June, 1981 I came to the city of Mumbai with million dreams. 39 years later, I can proudly say that God & people have been kind. Today I am launching another dream project, my website https://t.co/qESpl8z92y. Do check it out. I need your blessings & love! pic.twitter.com/F5zdtGCATq
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) June 3, 2020
On the work front, Kher was working on the second season of New Amsterdam when the global pandemic was declared, shutting shoots world over. He's currently at home in Mumbai. He's also signed Vivek Agnihotri's Kashmir Files, which, as the name suggests, will be about the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. Kher, however, hasn't watched Shikara, another film on the subject, even as Vidhu Vinod Chopra, director of the film, personally messaged him urging him to watch it. "I haven't got around to watching it. Honestly, I've had many Kashmiri Pandits tell me ki yeh toh bada gadbad kiya, bada dhoka kiya humare saath. And I fear ki mujhe acha nahi lagega toh main kuch bol doonga," Kher says.
Kher and Vivek Agnihotri want to present a more "authentic" view of the exodus with Kashmir Files. "I was supposed to resume work on New Amsterdam in July but if that is pushed, and if shooting can resume here, I will start work on Kashmir Files," he said. Anupam Kher will be seen in the lead role in the film.
He, however, insists that Kashmir Files is "not an answer" to Shikara. "Holocaust pe kayin filmein bani hai, they were not in response to each other. Ispe bhi banni chahiye. Vinod made his version, Vishal Bhardwaj made his (Haider) and Vivek and I are making ours," he said.
Kher is known to be extremely vocal about matters of Indian politics, and often stays on the right side of the debate with his tweets and extensive videos. In January this year when the anti-CAA protests were at its peak, his very public spat with veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah made headlines. Kher responded to Shah's "clown" comment on January 22, a Wednesday, with a video he released on Twitter, saying that Shah has spent all his life in frustration despite the success he's tasted.
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) January 22, 2020
But Kher feels it is possible to forget such ideological differences and work with his A Wednesday co-star again, "Did you know in Gone With The Wind, Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable couldn't stand each other, but it is still the greatest love story? Of course, I will work with Naseeruddin Shah again. He's my senior and I respect his work." Equating Bollywood to any other aam daftar, Kher said, "If it is possible for two people of opposing political views to work in the same office, why not in the industry?" Kuch bhi ho sakta hai, indeed.
The migrant worker crisis and subsequently the mammoth task of sending them home safely that Sonu Sood took upon his broad, able shoulders, has taken over social media. "It is a very big topic and we should do another interview for this," Kher said, concluding our chat.