Anupam Kher

Born: March 7, 1944 in Simla

Biography: Anupam Kher hails from a Kashmiri Pundit family and is known as a critically acclaimed actor in Bollywood. He is an alumnus of National School of Drama where he later went on to become a director. At one time, Kher was the chairman at the Indian Film Censor Board before he was succeeded by Sharmila Tagore.

A versatile actor who has acted in several roles ranging from comedy, character and villainous roles, Kher has come about as a much matured actor. He made his film debut with the movie Aagman in 1982. Then in 1984, he acted in a film called Saaransh where he played an old man who has lost his son. This film brought to light his outstanding acting ability. He won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for Saaransh.

Kher was later seen in many films like Tridev, Tezaab, Parinda, Daddy, Chaalbaaz, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ), Darr, Chahat, et al. His role in Daddy where he was portrayed the role of an alcoholic having strained relationships with his daughter won him the National Film Award. In Karma he was seen in a negative role, while in other films like DDLJ, Darr, etc he embarked on comedy roles for which he won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award. His recent release, A Wednesday, saw him in the role of a police commissioner trying to diffuse a situation where someone has planted bombs at strategic places.

Kher forayed into direction with the film Om Jai Jagdish in 2003. His performance in his next production film Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara won him another National Film Award. He also starred in international films like Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice and so on. In 2007, he started another production company along with Satish Kaushik named Karol Bagh Productions.