Bollywood's Anupam Kher: It's a nice journey

For Bollywood actor Anupam Kher, it took a meeting with Hollywood veteran Robert De Niro to realise that he hadn't done too badly in life. From a homeless boy, who slept in a Mumbai railway platform before getting a career break, to sharing the silver screen with the likes of Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper, Kher's journey has ticked every box in the proverbial rags-to-riches tale. "I had tears in my eyes and he [De Niro] was like — ‘what happened?' But, I was like ‘no, no — you won' understand'," said Kher in an interview with tabloid!. Even our meeting place — on the 42nd floor of Emirates Towers in Dubai on Tuesday with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a bird's eye view of the Dubai skyline — was a nod to the commanding position he held over Indian cinema. After having acted in over 450 films and 100 plays, this versatile 56-year-old actor has experimented with all kinds of roles. To put it simply, he can play the cool, hip father (Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge) or a heartbroken parent grappling with the death of his son (his debut Saraansh) or a righteous cop (A Wednesday) and a lecherous uncle (ChaalBaaz) with admirable ease. "All my life my reference point was that small-time boy and not the 450-film-old actor. So I thought to myself it's a nice journey. From that homeless boy to Robert De Niro — it was a beautiful moment. And after seeing my performance, he said I was terrific — that was like an Oscar or the biggest acting award given to me," said Kher, who spent 33 days in Philadelphia shooting for the film The Silver Linings Playbook. Tipped to release in October this year, Kher plays Dr Patel, the therapist to Cooper who is coping with a mental illness. But he's quick to add that his role will not be reduced to that token Indian man speaking in an exaggerated accent in a Hollywood film. When asked if he would fare better than Anil Kapoor's blink-and-miss cameo in spy series Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol series, he skirted it by saying that every Indian would be proud of his role. No accent coach "It is not a caricature or a stock character. I speak like the way I am speaking to you — no accent coach etc," said Kher, who has acted in several international ventures, including Bride And Prejudice, Bend It Like Beckham and a cameo in Woody Allen's You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. Kher, who has an agent in London, bagged The Silver Linings Playbook directed by David O Russell of The Fighters fame after several auditions done over Skype and recorded tapes. "When I do film abroad it is to prove a point to myself as an actor. I want to prove that we are equally talented if not more. The only thing is that our system is not as professional as it should be," said Kher in a matter-of-fact tone. But he doesn't let the negatives bog him down. Moving with the times and cultivating the right attitude is what propels him ahead. Enter his self-help book The Best Thing About You Is … You. "It's not a book on how to live or how to be successful or how to be rich. It is a book about how to be yourself. The best thing that has happened to you is you and nobody knows you better than you," said Kher, who drew heavily on his personal experiences while writing the book. He took a year to put it all together. "It's a tribute to my optimism… When you read the book you will feel like somebody is talking to you in the kitchen, in your drawing room or in your balcony. It is with reference to what I have learnt in my life," said Kher. Spurred by a series of bad decisions from 2003 to 2005, the actor decided to stage a play on his failures. The book took off after the resounding success of this play. "I didn't want to continue to do bad movies — though I own them and I am proud of each one of them. And, strangely, a play about my failures is the most successful thing I have done. It's brilliantly beautiful." Go get yours The Best Thing About You Is … YOU! is available in Book Plus, Lamcy Plaza. Dh49