Anupam Kher on Mumbai Dreams, Emergency & Never Giving Up | The Impossible Show ft ‪@-RiteshAgarwal‬

Young Anupam, you are sitting in that tiny room in Shimla, staring at the mirror, practicing dialogues you think no one will ever hear. Your dreams feel far away, don't they? Bollywood, theatre, recognition - it all seems impossible from where you are. Let me tell you something: 'Impossible' is just a word you haven't conquered yet. Life is going to surprise you. The rejections, the failures, the moments of self-doubt - they will become the stepping stones of your story. You will cry over lost roles, but one day you will laugh at those tears because they will lead you to something better. Like 'Saaransh', your first film as an old man when you were all of 28. Funny, right? Life will test you but also reward you when you least expect it. Oh, and one more thing about the whole hair situation: don't worry, you'll still have this swag. Yours truly, Anupam.

No, I started it. I wrote this letter to myself because I am a success story of my failures. And I feel that dreams are the only thing that make you who you are. You just have to add a dash of hard work. But to dream - and in a small town, there is a lot of time to dream. Time never ends. You are from a small town, especially if you are from lower middle class. Now there are different names - lower middle class, upper middle class, financially deprived class. But back then, there was only poor and rich. We were poor. And I was not very good in studies. I never got more than 38 marks. Never. Gandhi marks? The passing marks were 35, so from first standard till graduation, of course, then I joined drama school, that was a different story. And I was not great in sports either. I was average. My PT teacher once said an interesting thing. I think I was in 8th or 9th standard. I was running, and Sada Ji - Sada Singh Ji - he said, 'Stop. Even if you run alone, you'll still come second.' So I think I used to get beaten. Not PT, beating. Our school specialized in that. DAV Higher Secondary School. All our teachers - Munilal Sir, Jayaram Sir, Hardarshan Sir - they beat us and beat us and raised us. And thank you for that.

I will have this letter now that you read out to me. It has a sense of... about my childhood. I was never sad. We were never sad. We were 14 people in a small house, small room. One room, one veranda, and everyone lived together - uncle, aunt, sister, their children, all of us. And we were very happy. So one day I asked my grandfather, 'Dada ji, we are so poor, why are we so happy?' He said a very nice thing. He said, 'Beta, when a person is very poor, the cheapest thing is happiness.'

Happiness is the cheapest thing, that's why we were happy. I didn't even know. And when you go into the dream world, you are always successful there. Correct. Then life teaches you what to do. So you are a successful man.

Correct. And that's what I did, I think. And dreams keep changing with time. So I always go back to where I started from. I came to the city with 37 rupees in my pocket. To Bombay. I was... this is a very dignified, bold, sexy look, I will say. But when you are balding, they are in the crowd, there are a lot of bald men. You brought them especially for me? Nowadays, sir, bald is the new sexy. Look, from Jeff Bezos to everyone, nowadays all bald people have a stage when some hair from here goes... it's a shade look.

In June 1981. Back then, hairstyle was much more important than me being a gold medalist from drama school. But I am still a human being, very stubborn, and I look at my... situation. Yes, I came from drama school after graduation. A one-year drama school course from Chandigarh, then I did a three-year acting course from National School of Drama. Then I went to Lucknow to teach in a drama school. Yes, 2-3 years. Then I came to Bombay because my friends had already come to Bombay. But I see my life as a biopic, always from childhood. That's why I do a play based on my life called 'Kuchh Bhi Ho Sakta Hai'. I am the only actor in the world who has done his autobiography on stage while still practicing his craft. Incredible, right? Now I am giving an interview, it's part of my biopic. It's incredible. What a fascinating way to...

My grandfather and my father used to judge a person from the smile they have. You have a very beautiful smile. It comes from the heart. Till now, at 30, at 60, or at 69, may it remain like that. I will pray for that because if a person changes after becoming successful, then what is the point? Inside me, the 'Bittu' - the child I wrote the letter to, actually my nickname - you were going to ask about 'Bittu of Shimla'. Yes, because I want to tell you a nice thing. You are from Shimla, you grew up there. I don't own any house. I don't have any real estate of my own. I rent. I am a bit of that millennial generation - I live in a rented house. Still, same.

I don't carry any burden on myself. So nowadays people say it's a new millennial thing, but you have been practicing it for a long time. Yes, correct. So I have rented, but I have bought one property. I also bought one property. That property is in Himachal. Good. So it doesn't feel like we are separated brothers. Yes, I mean, only property? Tell me, where in Himachal is it? In Chele? One hour from Mashobra? Oh, it's just one hour from my place. So I will tell you, why did you buy it in Himachal? For whatever reason, my now-wife and I dated for 10 years since high school. She always wanted... her name is Geet. Geet once told me, 'Let's go to Himachal, we'll stay there for two or three months.' At that time, for whatever reason, I was able to travel. I was much younger, so I could do weekdays in Delhi and weekends in Shimla.

I decided 10-12 years ago that I would not buy a house. I will live in a rented apartment. I am happy. So a year ago, I asked my mom, 'Now you are happy, your son can do anything for you. I lost my father 12 years back, so we pamper her quite a bit.' So I was joking, I said, 'Is there anything in life that you want? I will do it for you.' The least expected thing was that she said, 'I have lived in Shimla for 59 years, maybe 55 years. I want a house in Shimla.' I said, 'We don't live there now. You have shifted to Bombay. No one goes to Shimla.' She said, 'No, I have spent my whole life in rented houses. I want my own house there.' That is a mother's heart. So I was a little shocked. She said, 'Just a one-bedroom will do.' But symbolically, she wants to be the owner. She wants her own house. So I am also her son, so I contacted a broker there. I said, 'Find a house, any kind.' They found big houses. Finally, they found an eight-bedroom house where the entrance to one bedroom hall was separate. So he said this is best. I said, 'Don't tell the owner I am asking, otherwise the price will go up.' He told me it is a one-bedroom hall. I said, 'How many more?' He said, 'Seven more.' I said, 'Show me all seven.' Then I asked the owner to negotiate. I said, 'Sir, I want to buy this property for my mother.' The owner said, 'Oh, for your mother? I will give you a 20% discount. But why does your voice sound familiar?' He was not on video call. No, no, on mobile phone. My name was Kalyan. He said, 'No, no, I am very impressed that you are buying this for your mother.' Then I told my mom, 'How is the whole house?' She said, 'The whole house is fine, but I just want this side room. I will go from the back, climb up.' I said, 'The whole house is yours.' She got angry, 'Your mind is spoiled. The electricity bill will be so high.' The same thing. Then we went back to the owner. 'Kalyan ji, we want to finalize now.' I said, 'Sir, I want to buy the whole house for my mother.' He said, 'Oh man, you are amazing. You are a great person. But why does your voice sound familiar?' I said, 'I am taking it.' I said, 'I am Anupam Kher.' He said, 'Oh my god, I am a huge fan of yours, not only as an actor but as a person. I will give you a 20% discount.' Finally, I think it was still a good deal. But that is the only house I have. Otherwise, my brother stays in a rented apartment, I stay in a rented apartment. And it's the only house. And my mother only goes there for two months in the summer, May-June. But it's a beautiful feeling when she goes there. Her whole personality changes. So we are... I know we are shifting topics, but that's what life is about. You don't stick to one path. In fact, if you stick to one path, you don't find other paths. Correct. So that's how this conversation is going. That if you stick to one path, maybe you will never see the 20 other paths that were made for you.

My father was my best friend and my biggest fan. My biggest fan. My father was a most amazing human being. A very ordinary person. Ordinary in the sense that he was a clerk. He didn't have much, but he taught me some amazing things.

He didn't have time to know about my life. He was earning 0 per month for a family of 14 people in the late 50s and early 60s. But he was a very, very supportive person. He was never a strict person. Not at all. In fact, his expression was the same in the play that he saw of mine when I was in fifth grade, and till the last film he saw of mine. Same. 'Wow, my son is amazing.' Even if my film was terrible, his expression was, 'What a thing! Now I have to believe you, man.' He would also get into photos with my fans. I mean, when mobile phones came, he never used to fly; he always traveled by train. In the train, he would go to the compartment and tell others, 'I am Anupam Kher's father.' People would say, 'What nonsense? Are you crazy? Why are you traveling by train?' Not that he traveled by train out of necessity; it was just first class or second class or whatever. So they would say, 'We don't believe you.' And he would get very offended. So at 1:30 or 2:00 at night, I would get a call on my mobile. 'Bittu, tell me, what is this? They don't believe me. Talk to them.' 'Papa, I am sleeping.' 'Yes, yes, I am speaking. These people are saying that I am Anupam Kher's father. How do they know? He is my father.' Dialogue from 'Karma'? Actually, he was saying the dialogue from 'Karma' - 'Rana Vishnu Pratap Singh' at 1:30 AM to convince them that he is my father. But the innocence of parents is amazing. And the happiness in seeing their children. Even now, after he passed away, when he was alive, he used to have so much pride. As you are saying, there is no neighbor who doesn't know, because the unconditional love in this world you get only from your parents.

That was six months. You would walk together for a bit, then after six months, fingers would touch. By then, marriage talks would start with someone else. So one day we were walking in Lovers' Lane. This girl I really liked, she agreed with great difficulty. First, I was a Hindi medium school boy, and English medium school girls don't give much importance to Hindi medium boys. So with great difficulty, she started walking with me in Lovers' Lane. Now they are walking, already success... Suddenly I saw my father coming in Lovers' Lane at 3:30 in the afternoon. I thought, 'What is he doing here at this time?' But he was alone, thank God. I thought, 'What is he doing in Lovers' Lane?' He came closer. I was thinking, 'If I tell her he is my father, she will leave.' So I was thinking, and suddenly he came near me. I said, 'Namaste, uncle.' He said, 'Namaste, namaste. How are your parents? They are fine.' So he was so amazing. He was a sport. He was a great guy. In fact, the person I portrayed in 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' is based on my father. My father gave me the best quote about failure. He said, once I failed in class, he said, 'Remember one thing: failure is an event, never a person.' An event fails, not a person. The person can become successful later. So my life has been blessed by the kind of people who surrounded my family. My grandfather... when I was in a bad state here, sleeping on a railway platform, not getting work, and I wrote him a letter, he wrote back, 'Don't worry. A wet man is not afraid of rain.' So I told you, I see my life as a biopic, otherwise I wouldn't remember these things. I used to write in my diary. So all these things, I owe to three things: my grandfather, my grandmother, my father, and the first film I did.

On YouTube. 0 years back? You were 28 years old then. You acted as a 65-year-old man. What gave you the courage to do it? No, I think I was smart enough to understand that if I did this role successfully, my entire future would be set. Because it's a brilliant role, and I am a trained actor. Many people said, 'Your whole life will become like this.' Because generally people advise that once you set a template, you may not get other work. And that happens in India because 90% of actors are not trained. They become actors because life is kind to them, and their fathers put in money, and they look good. In my opinion, I thought, 'What an amazing role it is. One day they will realize that a 65-year-old man is actually 28 years old. It will become another story.' It has become. I mean, I don't know if you have seen it or not.