I used to do 22-23 films a year - Anupam Kher

Courtesy: IndiaFM
Thursday, September 14, 2006
After his brilliant performance in Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara, comes another film with Anupam Kher in an author backed role. Khosla Ka Ghosla.

Tell us about Khosla Ka Ghosla.
Khosla Ka Ghosla is about middle class aspirations of Indian families, middle class dreams, intricacies of an idiotic mind, some nice minds, relationships between the families, wanting to be big, trying to make hay while the sun shines. Apart from that it is also about the ordinariness of the middle class man. Khosla is an ordinary man and all his life he spent in an ordinary manner and by the end of it he has been very happy to buy a plot of land outside Delhi in Gurgaon and now his whole life is concentrated on that. How will he make a house on that land, what will he do, where will be the bathroom, the kitchen, sons room, daughters room, will there be a parking space too for a scooter or for a big car, so basically Khosla has suddenly has big things to think about. And how a political tout grabs that land on the day of the Bhoomi Pooja and how the family gets the land back is basically the premise of Khosla Ka Ghosla.

You play an author backed role in the film. How does it feel?
Well I have done author backed roles earlier also, but what is great about this is that it is a story of an ordinary man. When I did Saraansh, Daddy or Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara, they were always characters who had inner strengths or inner weaknesses which had some kind of behavioral pattern in them. Khosla is a completely ordinary man. There is no quality in him. No great quality, no weaknesses, he is just an ordinary monotonous man. I think to portray an ordinary and monotonous man is the most difficult thing as an actor because an actor always looks for clutches, looks for things so that he can sort of use them and enhance his acting. But to be Khosla was one the biggest challenges for me as an actor because you have to be Khosla. You cannot say I will borrow some parts from my previous character. I have seen a Khosla in millions of people across the country. You will find such people all over the country. Khosla is a story about a family in Karol Bagh in Delhi but it can happen in Goregaon in Mumbai, it can happen in Jamnagar, it can happen in Rajasthan, Bihar, Karnataka, just anywhere.

How was it working with Boman Irani?
It was my first meeting with Boman. Boman says he was very nervous. He says he has been seeing my movies for the last 20 years. But when you meet actors you meet them on the same platform. Boman had a lot of experience in theater and he is a very fine actor and a very fine human being. He has done Khurana's role exceptionally well. Let me say Khurana enhances Khosla's performance. It was a joy working with him.

People love seeing you onscreen. Why is it that over the past few years you are seen rarely?
I have done about 322 films in the last 22 years. I need to feel excited about the character I am portraying because if I am excited about something, I will make the audience feel excited about it. I used to do 22-23 films a year. Now I do 4-5 films a year because I like to concentrate and make the best out of the roles I am doing. I am happy. I run an acting school. I give some time there. I am in the process of writing my script. I am enjoying the space I am getting.

Whenever your acting is critically acclaimed while playing an author backed role, you succeed as an actor but the box office result varies. Why is it so?
I don't think I have to worry about the box office. There is a contradiction in your question. You say that I performed well and movie was good, that is all I need. You may have the biggest box office actors but their films may not necessarily do well. You also have films where there are horrible performances but the film is a big hit. My job is to carry on with the work and do it as honestly I can and put my hard work in it. I don't think I can act according to the box-office result. It is not in my hands. Thank god it is in the hands of the audience. I meet people on the streets and they tell me they love my acting and that is what matters to me.

You play a dwarf in Jaan-E-Mann. How did you manage it?
Jaan-e-Mann has been the most difficult roles of my career. To play a dwarf when you are actually 5'10", it is the most difficult thing in the world. I took it up, I thought I will manage it but I did not know that my own weight on my own knees is going to be difficult. But if you want to achieve something you have to go through the pain and the trauma. When I finished the dubbing of the film and when I saw the teaser, I felt that it was all worth it. It is a fantastic piece of acting that any actor could have dreamt about. I am very happy that I did Jaan-E-Mann.

Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara was a fantastic film. Fantastic acting. But does it pinch when the box office result is not up to the mark?
One does feel bad about it. My purpose of the film was to get great honor to the film and see if I get my money back. I got my money back and the film was loved by all. The film has not made me a rich man but I never intended to become rich by this film. I wanted to be richer as a person which I feel I have managed to.

Are you happy with Sikander Kher's launch pad?
Any actor should work hard for his launch and get his place in the son. Sikander has done that. I am sure he will work very hard.

What about Gandhi Park?
Gandhi Park is a film being made by Tom George and it is a brilliant script. We will start the shoot soon. There will be an official announcement for the same soon and you will get more details.