I am a success story of my failures, says Anupam Kher

Veteran actor Anupam Kher’s journey is the ultimate underdog story. A small-town boy with big dreams, he faced rock bottom before reaching Bollywood’s highest peaks. Life threw obstacles his way, but he turned them into stepping stones. His story is proof that resilience and hard work can change your destiny.

In the latest episode of The Impossible Show by Hindustan Times, Kher sits down with another small-town success story - Ritesh Agarwal, CEO of OYO. The two dive deep into what it takes to beat the odds.

With a career spanning over 40 years, Kher looks back at his struggles, failures, and the lessons that shaped him. He believes luck favours the brave, but it’s grit that gets you through. Through personal stories, he shares a powerful truth - success isn’t just about making it big. It’s about being yourself, no matter what life throws at you. Anupam Kher is known for his versatility, seamlessly shifting between drama and comedy. In the 90s, he charmed audiences as the jolly father in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. His comic brilliance shone in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Khosla Ka Ghosla. But he’s not just about laughs. In the gripping thriller A Wednesday, he delivered a powerful performance as the tough police commissioner racing against time to save Mumbai.

His ability to bring depth and realism to his characters stems from his deep understanding of human emotions. Unlike many actors who rely on external expressions, Kher’s approach is rooted in method acting, drawing from personal experiences to bring authenticity to his roles.

Kher believes that artists must take risks. His debut performance in Saaransh (1984), where he played an elderly man grieving the loss of his son, remains one of the finest portrayals of grief and despair in Indian cinema. He reminisces, “In my first film Saaransh, I was 28 when I played a 65-year-old man. People asked me, "Where did you get the courage to do that?" I was smart enough to understand that if I played this role successfully, it would define my entire career. It was a brilliant role.” He won the Filmfare award for best actor in 1985 for the critically acclaimed movie. The risk he took at 28 did pay off.

Anupam Kher's tale goes beyond just making it big; it also covers the challenges that moulded him. Unlike many Bollywood celebrities with family ties to the film world, Kher had no industry contacts. His early days in Mumbai were full of hardships—he slept at train stations, got turned down , and wrestled with self-doubt. "A drenched man never fears the rain," he remarks, summing up how he turns tough times into chances to grow.

This toughness is similar to the paths of other famous actors, who also faced money troubles and career setbacks before becoming a superstar. But Kher stands out because he sees failure as a way to improve, not as something to stop him. His belief—"Failure is an event, never a person"—has not shaped his career but also fired up many others trying to make their mark in different fields.