Anupam Kher may have built a career playing intense characters, but there’s one memory from his early days in Bollywood that still makes him smile, and it involves none other than the legendary Dilip Kumar.
Recounting his first-ever meeting with the cinema icon, Anupam Kher recently shared an anecdote from the sets of the 1986 film ‘Karma’, where he played the villainous Dr. Dang opposite Dilip Kumar as upright cop, DCP Vishwa Pratap Singh.
“I was already in full costume as Dr. Dang by 7 am,” Kher recalled. “Around 11, Dilip sahab arrived on set. He stepped out of his white Mercedes, dressed in a crisp white shirt. I just stood there staring at him, thinking, ‘Wow, this is the man because of whom I became an actor.’”
Kher says he watched Dilip Kumar closely, observing his expressions, his hands, his walk, completely in awe. That’s when director Subhash Ghai noticed the situation and pulled him aside.
“Subhash ji whispered, ‘Tu jis pyaar se unko dekh raha hai, tu mujhe marvaega! Tu villain hai meri film ka! (The way you’re looking at him with love, you’re going to ruin my film! You’re the villain, remember!)’”
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Kher responded with a smile, “Anupam Kher Dilip Kumar se pyaar karta hai, Dr. Dang Vishwa Pratap se nahi karta.”
Translation? ‘Anupam Kher loves Dilip Kumar, but Dr. Dang definitely does not love Vishwa Pratap.’
But the moment that left a lasting mark on Kher came while shooting one of ‘Karma’’s most intense scenes, the famous slap sequence. Hoping to impress his idol, Kher suggested that Dilip Kumar slap him for real.
“Sir, you can actually slap me,” he offered. But the veteran actor refused. “Beta, Pathaan ka haath hai. Beshosh ho jaega.” (Son, it’s a Pathaan’s hand. You’ll faint if I slap you.)
Despite the warning, the scene turned out to be powerful. And when Dilip Kumar watched the shot in playback, he told Subhash Ghai, “A dangerous actor has arrived. He will go a long way.”
For Kher, those words felt like a blessing carved in stone. “When Dilip Kumar sahab says something like that, you feel like nothing in the world can stop you anymore,” he said.