Yesterday was Anupam Kher’s birthday and today is Women International Day so I present the actor and the female gaze.
In Saransh, his wife Rohini Hattangadi and he give shelter to a young couple in their home and when they discover that Soni Razdan is pregnant, the couple is convinced that the unborn is the soul of their departed son. In Vijaya Mehta’s Rao Saheb Rao, a young barrister, returns from England with progressive ideas to reform his village. He is sympathetic and attracted to a young widow/ Tanvi Azmi and we are made to believe that he will marry her and set an example for others but he is unable to translate his ideals into action.
In Tezaab, Shyam Lal lives off the earnings of his daughter/ Madhuri Dixit, a dancer and when she opposes him, he gets physically violent with her. In Sansar Kher after a conflict with his older son, divides the mansion with a line drawn in the centre of the hall, separating Raj Babbar and Rekha from the rest of the family but in a crisis, Kher’s wife, Seema Deo has to trespass the line and aid her daughter-in-law and Anupam Kher isn’t willing to forgive her.
Mahesh Bhatt’s Daddy was about an alcoholic father/ Anupam Kher struggling to give up drinking for the sake of his daughter/ Pooja Bhatt, the character rises and falls and rises again determined to gain his self-respect and win back the love of his daughter. In Lamhe he is the friend who advises Sridevi to unload her feelings to Anil Kapoor whom she secretly loves but cannot share her feelings with anybody. Anupam Kher senses her conflict and supports her without judgements.