Anupam Kher poses with Robert De Niro.
Actor Sikandar Kher revealed all the life lessons that he has learned from his step father, Anupam Kher. Sikandar said that he understood the value of tenacity from Anupam, a veteran star who has worked in both Bollywood and Hollywood.
Sikandar also recalled an anecdote about how Anupam stood up for himself among Hollywood heavy-hitters such as Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper when he got wind that he might be removed from a scene in The Silver Linings Playbook, which was headlined by Jennifer Lawrence and directed by David O Russell.
Recalling the story, Sikandar said on the Qisse with Kopal podcast, “A man who is already drenched isn’t afraid of the rain; that’s something I learned from him. His tenacity… When he got to know that he had been replaced in Saaransh without being informed, and he had to leave Mumbai because he didn’t have any money. But before leaving, he , and he did it so hard that he got the part.”
Sikandar continued, “Robert De Niro is my father’s favourite. And he got a chance to work with him on Silver Linings Playbook. And there was a little situation on set, during rehearsal, De Niro thought that my father shouldn’t be in the scene. He felt that his character wouldn’t let my dad’s character in the house because he didn’t like him. He thought, let me just give them a piece of my mind. And he went and gave the director a piece of his mind in front of the whole set; there’s Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Chris Tucker, Robert De Niro… He explained to them why he should be in the scene. Director looks at De Niro and asks, ‘Bob?’ And De Niro said okay. My father is a nobody there, he’s from India. He could’ve lost that part. But he went there and just did it, and held on to his self-respect. That’s the stuff I need to learn.”
Sikandar said that he has two fathers; his birth father Gautam Berry, and Anupam. But both were busy when he was growing up, so he didn’t have a paternal presence around him. “When my mom and dad got divorced, I was with my other dad. But my other dad was becoming an actor and his career was flourishing, so he was mostly out of the house. Fathers are fathers. Fathers and sons are hectic,” he said. In recent years, Sikandar has made a comeback to the film industry with supporting roles in films such as Monica O My Darling and Monkey Man. He also appeared in the series Aarya and Citadel: Honey Bunny.