Actor Anupam Kher pens autobiography

NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Anupam Kher is coming out with his autobiography, "Lessons Life Taught Me Unknowingly" that is set to hit stands on August 5. Publishers Penguin Random House said the book will be an "extraordinary, riveting and no-holds-barred saga" in which Kher will make some behind-the-scenes revelations, and share anecdotes and rare nuggets from his life and the lessons it taught him. Anupam Kher's life story is nothing short of a grand masala box office hit," publishers said in a statement on Monday.Kher, one of the most prolific actors in the Indian film industry, has over 530 films in several languages, both in India and the West, 100 plays and numerous TV shows to his credit. He is a winner of two National awards, eight Filmfare awards and a BAFTA nomination. He is also a recipient of the Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan awards.The 64-year-old actor started his career with films such as "Saaransh" and "Daddy" in India, and went on to feature in mainstream Hollywood films such as "Silver Linings Playbook", "Hotel Mumbai", "The Big Sick" and "The Family Man" and has worked with directors such as Ang Lee, David Russell, Woody Allen, Gurinder Chadha and Lana and Lilly Wachowski. Kher also has a best-selling book in his kitty. The Best Thing about You Is You!" has been translated in six languages and is in its 22nd reprint. Presently, the actor shuttles between Mumbai and New York where he is one of the lead actors on the recently premiered hit TV show "New Amsterdam" on NBC Entertainment Channel. The book is expected to offer a kaleidoscopic peep into the life and times of the actor and the entertainer that Kher is. He has always been distinct and offbeat. His autobiography is, too. For it is not just another chronological account of his life. It is, in fact, also peppered with incredible life lessons that are bound to resonate with every aspiring artiste and, most of all, the common man," Penguin added.“I live my life, I don’t exist in it,” says theatre and film actor Anupam Kher in an interview with Firstpost. Having previously staged his life in the play Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai, he has now penned Lessons Life Taught Me, Unknowingly: An Autobiography, which he launched at the Crosswords Bookstore with director Mahesh Bhatt in Mumbai on 7 November. Aware of and present for every moment of his life, Kher explains the intent behind these highly introspective endeavours. “I can also switch off if I find that somebody is being fake with me,” he says. But for the most part, he’s expending his energy wisely, being aware of each moment of life as it happens around him. It’s all these observations and lessons learnt in retrospect, captured within the span of a life spread over six decades, which now populate his autobiography. As he details in it, he has an almost perfect, photographic memory, and relives each moment as he writes about it. The book is full of anecdotes, starting from his earliest days in Kashmir, going on to study theatre in Chandigarh first, and then Delhi, before foraying into films in Mumbai. Soon after, he headed westward to make his mark in Hollywood. He carefully recreates the small and big moments of his life, details his philosophy towards life, breaks down his creative process when approaching a new role, and stresses on optimism and empathy as the main pillars of his personality.Reflecting on his career, Kher pays particular heed to certain roles as his greatest challenges. The first of these was playing BV Pradhan in his debut film Saaransh. After this, he’d established himself and enjoyed a growing career, until eventually, it started feeling old. Every role started feeling the same, he set into a routine, and ennui descended on him. “When you’re competent, you can never be brilliant. I was becoming competent,” says Kher. Soon, interesting roles came his way, in Khosla ka Ghosla and A Wednesday. And then came The Accidental Prime Minister, which, he explains, as his ‘second Saaransh’, feeling equally challenged and again, breaking down his process of preparing for the role. Today, besides theatre and television, Kher has over 500 movies to his credit.