The actor was in the thick of things in Surat, shooting for Gang of Ghosts, a movie about territorial spooks in a Mumbai bungalow. He plays a virtual mall owner in Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 and will present his monologue in Delhi today. The actor chatted with Shana Maria Verghis
The network’s poor, so we are getting frazzled at being unable to get through to Anupam Kher.
He was shooting in Surat, until a day ago. “It’s the remake of a Bengali film, Bhooter Bhabishyat by Rain Jain, which was a huge hit last year,” he said, while he took a break. “The film is by Satish Kaushik, who was supposed to be working on the adaptation of a Hindi novel by Satinder Varma.” It is about a male prostitute and a gangster.
Instead, he is shooting this film, which makes an interesting comment about people. Kher informed us, “A group of ghosts take up space in a multi-storey building. It’s an old bungalow in Mumbai. And the place gets new residents. Comedy ensues with an ensemble cast that includes Sharman Joshi and others.” It’s Priyanka Chopra’s cousin Meera’s first project.
Kher, who was at the Oscars a few months ago with the Silver linings Playbook cast, is also appearing in the next film from the Deol house — Yamla Pagla Deewana 2. “My character’s name is Joginder Armstrong. He’s the owner of a virtual mall. If you’ve seen the first part, you’ll know that everyone’s crazy in this film. The Deols have a wonderful workable chemistry.”
Today, Kher will be presenting another show of his monologue, Kuchh Bhi Ho Sakta Hai at Siri Fort. He shared, that “it had its 300th show last Sunday in Mumbai. The script is pretty much the same. It runs into 27 pages. And the only new item is the format.” He added, “The reason I chose the monologue is that its convenient to move with. I’m only working with five people, who help behind the scenes.”
Incidentally, he informed us, “Rakesh Bedi and I are working on a two-person drama, which Kirron (his wife) and I will stage at some point in the future, when the time-schedule is right.” He had written a book based on the philosophy of Kuchh Bhi Ho Sakta Hai, which was about his own story, failure and success. “The play’s aim was to liberate you from the fear of failure and set backs, looking at life in a comical way. And how you can laugh when things go wrong,” he reminded those of us who came in late. And how have all these life-lessons and sharing gyaan changed himIJ “I’m not normal to take myself seriously. But entertainment’s a good medium to look at daily life. I’ve written that book but my perception hasn’t changed drastically. I am still open to mistakes and learning from them. The main difference between me and others is I don’t pretend. I like myself to much, to pretend to be someone else.” Ha, but his job means pretending to be someone else.
“Yes, but it’s like being a doctor. I have a job and a life. There is more to me than roles that I play. like there’s more to you than being a journalist. Anyway, success is about attitude. And it can get boring. What matters in the end is who you are. In that sense, failure keeps you alive, while success brings you closer to your self.” He mused, “I get up in the morning ready for whatever I’m going to do that day. Whether its a great role, or an idiotic one. I have fun with it. You don’t get it right all the time because you can’t make the whole world like you, but you don’t have to be burdened by it. And there will always be life-changing moments.”
Speaking of which, was that how it was with Midnight’s ChildrenIJ “Not as much as Silver linings Playbook because I met Robert de Niro, whom I am a huge fan of. My favourite films by him are Raging Bull and the lesser-known King of Comedy. When I first met him, I noticed he isn’t a big guy, though his personality comes across that way on the screen in Godfather 2.” He produced a short film, as a tribute to his idol, called, I Went Shopping for Robert de Niro. Telling us, “We plan to show it at film festivals.” He has a guest appearance in Anil Kapoor’s version of 24. He said, “I did it because of Anil.” Years ago he did TV appearances in kids’ shows and Mahesh Bhatt’s Janam.