One look at M.S. Dhoni's father Pan Singh before shooting began for the cricketer's biopic, and ace actor Anupam Kher knew he had to shed some serious weight.
Padma Bhushan multi-talented actor Kher, who ecstatically tweeted on August 26 that he had finished dubbing for M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, set for release later in September, confessed on Friday in Ranchi that he lost nearly 14kg to convincingly play Pan Singh.
"I didn't study his mannerisms," Kher, 61, said in a chat with this reporter at Radisson Blu's Waterfront restaurant. "Being very close to my own father, I knew exactly how a middle-class, protective dad behaves with his son. I tapped those memories," he said. "I found Pan Singh ji much like my own father, who was a forest department clerk in Shimla."
At age 28, Kher forced the nation to acknowledge his talent with his searing portrayal of a bereaved old father in Mahesh Bhatt's Saaransh (1984).
Since then, he's played many fathers, some iconic. They include an alcoholic, absentee parent in Daddy, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin's eccentric millionaire dad who urges his daughter to run away from her own wedding, the easygoing NRI father in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, a conservative Punjabi dad in Britain in Bend It Like Beckham who forbids his daughter from playing football and a strict, principled father who can't fathom a live-in relationship in Wake Up Sid.
But, these are fictional fathers. With Pan Singh, Kher is playing a real-life character, which he acknowledges is a "huge responsibility".
Why Kher agreed to do the role is no mystery. "I am a Dhoni fan. So when Neeraj (Pandey, the director) told me about this film, I readily agreed to play his father," Kher said. "Meeting Pan Singh ji, whom I found to be real, middle-class man with values, strengthened the commitment to do justice to the role."
The actor has "great faith in Neeraj", who has directed him in three films, A Wednesday, Baby and Special 26. "He's superb. He knows how to extract the exact performance from an actor."
On his journey from just another struggler to one of Bollywood's most established names, Kher, who has eloquently captured his life in his play Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai. "I've spent many nights at the railway station in Mumbai," he laughed.
What about his breakout role as B.V. Pradhan in Saaransh? "I was an actor from National School of Drama, loved acting and had to prove myself with the role," he said. And now? "There's more responsibility. I have to live up to the expectations of my admirers."
Meeting with CM
Chief minister Raghubar Das, who met Kher on Friday, promised to host a national-level film festival in Jharkhand from next year. The actor, on his part, told Das to push for a direct Mumbai-Ranchi flight for easier commute of cast and crew from India's film capital and start work on the proposed film city in the state. Earlier in the day, Kher also attended the first meeting of Jharkhand's technical advisory committee formed after the state's film policy."The committee has good people in it but I suggested inducting lady members too," he said. "And, I urged members not to allow politics to interfere with the committee's functioning."
Will Pan Singh be Anupam Kher's best dad role yet? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com
