From Sleeping on Platforms to 550 Films: Anupam Kher's Unfiltered Journey in Navika Kumar's 'Baatein Dil Se'

In

a deeply personal and candid conversation, veteran actor Anupam Kher opened up about the defining moments of his life, from surviving 27 days on a Mumbai railway platform as a struggling actor to walking away from a lucrative five-year Hollywood contract to be by wife Kirron Kher's side during her cancer diagnosis. The 71-year-old actor, who has completed 550 films in a 41-year career, shared these revelations in the upcoming episode of Baatein Dil Se with Navika Kumar, the podcast hosted by the Editor-in-Chief of The Times Group TNNavbharat and TimesNow.

The 71-year-old actor has completed 550 films

'The Moment I Knew Kirron Had Cancer, I Didn't Think Twice'

Speaking about his relationship with Kirron Kher and the challenges they have navigated together, Anupam Kher revealed that he was working on New Amsterdam, a popular American medical drama, when he learned of Kirron's cancer diagnosis. The show had given him a five-year contract and established him as a mainstream international actor."The moment I came to know that Kirron has been diagnosed with cancer, it did not take me much time to decide that I must leave that and be next to her," Kher said during the interview. "I was not physically next, but I gave myself the greatest satisfaction that I am there. We may have any kind of dispute between each other at any time, sometimes there is a quarrel. But if it comes to standing next to her, I'm always there."The actor, who has been married to Kirron Kher for nearly 41 years, also spoke about the mutual respect that forms the foundation of their relationship. "I accept she is superior to me," he said. "She is much more intelligent than I am. Women are much more superior to men. Any human being who has the possibility of giving birth to another life has to be superior."

Father's Lesson After Failing Board Exams

In one of the most moving segments of the interview, Kher recounted how his father, a forest department clerk earning just ninety rupees a month, shaped his fearless approach to failure. When a young Anupam failed his tenth standard board exams, his father took him to their favourite restaurant, Alpha on Mall Road, Shimla, a place the family could afford to visit only once every six months."When the bill came, instead of 50 paise, he put one rupee as tip," Kher recalled. "I thought a miracle had happened. I asked him what he was doing. He said he was celebrating my failure, so that I would never fear failure again."His father then uttered words Kher says he has carried with him throughout his life: "Remember one thing, a person drenched in rain, is not afraid of rain."This philosophy, Kher explained, helped him survive his darkest days in Mumbai. "I slept on the railway platform for 27 days. I had even thought I would go back. I have never felt more humiliated. A gold medalist, an educated man, I felt ashamed," he said.

The Robert De Niro Story: From Confrontation to Friendship

Kher also shared a remarkable behind-the-scenes story from the sets of Silver Linings Playbook (2012), where he worked alongside Robert De Niro. Their first interaction, he revealed, was far from smooth. Technical difficulties during a Skype audition led director David O Russell to write him a note: "Next time be more professional."

Anupam Kher's Unfiltered Journey in Navika Kumar's 'Baatein Dil Se'

"I wrote back on paper: 'Google search me,'" Kher laughed.

On set, tensions flared when De Niro, staying in character, physically pushed Kher out of a scene during rehearsal. "I'm standing outside in the Philadelphia cold, chest bare, face painted green and nobody is talking to me because De Niro pushed me out," Kher recalled. "I thought, I gave him a Ganpati idol and he did this to me?"But Kher refused to back down, insisting on his interpretation of the character. The confrontation, he said, ultimately earned De Niro's respect. "At half past two in the night, his assistant came and said Bob is calling you to his van. He offered me a drink. I said, 'From your hand, I will take poison also.' That started one of the best friendships of my life."Today, Kher says receiving messages from De Niro makes him feel "like a rich man."

On His Approach to Life at 71

When asked how he maintains his energy and optimism, Kher said: "I don't carry baggage. Every day is a new day. I practice happiness, if you decide for three months that you will be happy, you get used to it."He also revealed he is working on Saaransh 2, a sequel to the 1984 film that launched his career. "In the original Saaransh, I was 28 playing a 65-year-old. Now I'm 71, I want to play the same man, now an angry old man who believes in action."