He has been in the headlines for more than four decades, but Anupam Kher’s acting has not aged. The 71-year-old actor returns to the Delhi stage with his latest production known and unknownThe actor says the secret is that he has not aged mentally. “That’s when you get old mentally. That’s when everything gets rusty. I don’t take myself too seriously; if you do, you’ll be overwhelmed by your own greatness. I enjoy the journey. I enjoy the moment. My competition has always been with myself. I believe that human endurance can make people achieve great things. I’m not afraid of failure. I keep trying…”

Anupam Kher Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Drawn to director Gajendra Ahire after watching a Marathi rendition, Kher says he decided to add the layer of music by involving Anu Malik for “popular appeal”. He then reached out to “Sahaj” Swaroop Sampath to tell the fascinating story of a widow and a widower. “It’s not that I was looking forward to working with her, it doesn’t work that way in theatre, I just thought she was a perfect fit for the role, and she wasted no time coming on board.” Kher says that the play explores loneliness in modern relationships and the rift in human relationships between three generations in a middle-class environment. “We often take retired people for granted and assume social media profiles are real. The play says you don’t need a mirror to show you who you are; you already know your inner structure. It gives you a chance to look within yourself.”

Anupan Kher includes known and unknown
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Asked how he brings his ideals to life in tangible characters, Kher says he is a “people-oriented person”. “I can see a character trait in you, and it sticks in my mind. My wealth lies in the number of people I know rather than the number of cars or houses I own. In the acting profession, it helps. Your performance depends on how many people you know and understand.”

In his storied career, Kher has attempted two sides of the same idea. His association with Mahatma Gandhi is remembered in two different forms: I did not kill GandhiA film he produced, and more recently The Bengal Files. “I’m sticking to the script, but main gandhi…was one of those films that I had to research because I was playing a man suffering from Alzheimer’s syndrome who was living with the guilt of killing Gandhi. The eyes of people suffering from Alzheimer’s remain empty. I had to work a lot on myself to bring that expression.”

with The Bengal FilesKher says, he followed the research of Vivek Agnihotri but he had to imbibe Gandhi’s physical qualities. The performance was dissected to present a version of Gandhi who seemed unsure of what he was advocating. “Whatever Gandhi said in the film was authentic, and we felt he was unsure because the situation (communal riots during Partition) was such,” says Kher, adding that he is not sure whether the portrayal was right or wrong, unlike theater where once the performance starts, the actor is king, in cinema, the director is the master and editing and background sound also play a role in the final expression.

Featuring Anupan Kher and Swaroop Sampat known and unknown
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Reflecting on his association with Delhi, the National School of Drama alumnus says that the three years he spent at the drama school were the most memorable moments of his life. “I felt rich without money. It opened up the world of theater and cinema for me, where I could understand the magic of Marlon Brando, Laurence Olivier, Mohan Rakesh, Dharamvir Bharti, Manohar Singh and Uttara Baokar.”

But one could argue that, when he returned to his first love, he chose her materialistic side. “Materialistic is not the right word. I do theater for passion. I don’t need to do that. Many cinema artistes don’t come back. What I say is that theater should make money. It can’t be for hungry people anymore. Even when it was for hungry people, its supporters wanted to make money. I don’t think people who make money from theater should feel guilty about it. When people come to see Anupam Kher, they have such a feeling in their mind. There is an image of an actor who has done 550 feature films. But the Delhi audience is so fast that they don’t care about the reputation if the performance doesn’t stop even after five to 10 minutes,” laughs Kher, adding that he gets to see a lot of dramas and that is why he is worried about the reaction in the capital.

Given his strong political views, he could give voice to them through theatre. “I appreciate it, but I don’t like doing political theatre. For me, theater is a tool of emotional engagement where I can bring out human weaknesses and human strengths.” There is no doubt about it, from Summary And Khosla’s nestWhose sequel he is very excited about tanvi the greatNo matter the quality of the film, Kher’s acting can make you cry. “I think it has to do with my lower-middle-class family background. I would love to stage Shakespeare, but I don’t identify with it. I want the audience to identify with my emotions, and that’s what I’m trying to achieve known and unknown“

known and unknown It will be staged on May 22, 23 and 24 at 2 pm and 7 pm at Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg. Tickets are available on Bookmyshow.com and are priced at ₹Starting from Rs 2,299