Anupam Kher reflects on a lifetime in cinema

At IFFI 2025, Anupam Kher revisits his cinematic journey with renewed emotional clarity.

- MURTAZA ALI KHAN

At this year's International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Anupam Kher walked into his masterclass with the same openness, warmth, and unfiltered honesty that have long defined him. But this year carried a special resonance.

With 'Tanvi the Great,' '1942: A Love Story,' 'Calorie,' and 'The Bengal Files,' all screening across festival sections, IFFI 2025 hosted what may be described as an unofficial Anupam Kher retrospective.

For Kher, who began his career at 28 playing an elderly father mourning the loss of his only son in 'Saaransh,' the festival became not just a showcase of his cinematic journey but a moment of reflection—on craft, choices, risks, and the sheer miracle of staying passionately engaged with life.

Kher's latest directorial venture, 'Tanvi the Great' emerged from a deeply personal space. "I needed to tell a story that comes from my whole being," Kher revealed.

It wasn't originally in his plans to return to direction—until a spark arrived from within the family. "This idea came from my niece, whose name is Tanvi," he recalled. "I thought it was very important to make a film in today's time about goodness. I come from a family that believed in goodness."

He describes 'Tanvi the Great' as a father-daughter story where an autistic daughter attempts to fulfil her father's unfinished dream—a narrative that demanded sincerity more than spectacle.

The journey to make the film was anything but easy. Financing was delicate, the logistics daunting, yet Kher embraced the challenge with characteristic optimism. "I get more motivated if there are difficulties," he said. "At the end of it, you do things you believe in."