His many different roles over the years – starting out as a 28-year-old in Saaransh, where he played an ageing father grieving for his NRI son, down to roles in films like Midnight’s Children and Silver Linings Playbook – have marked Anupam Kher as a veteran of Indian cinema. So, when he spoke at the IFFI (International Film Festival of India) masterclass on ‘Performing for Screen and Theatre’ recently, there was a full house in attendance.

Talking about his first acting role in school, he shared that it wasn’t until a teacher had asked for the “boy who imitates everyone”, that he found the spark of acting inside him.

“I come from a non-filmi background, but I would always imitate people and wasn’t very good at studies. The teacher was looking for a person to play Prithviraj Chauhan where I had only one line, and I got the role because of my mimicry – but I messed it up!” he said. He had given up hope of acting further when his father, who was his biggest fan, got him a garland and said, “This is not for winning, but for trying.”

Kher then went on to act in several theatre productions before he landed the role in Saaransh (1984). “Theatre was my learning ground and I believe that no actor can be good without training,” he shared, stating that he is not a spontaneous actor. “I live the role for months before I face the camera. When I got Saaransh I was too young to understand the pain of a father, so I lived his life for six months,” said Kher.

Talking about the iconic scene with the Customs officers, Kher said that he would only be able to do it in one take. “Since I couldn’t feel a father’s pain, I dug into my own: that I would have to pack my bags and leave the city if I didn’t do this right, and thus the tears on screen were real,” he said.

But Kher revels in comic roles as much as he loves being part of dramas. “I believe an actor should be able to make a complete ass of himself; until you become a bewakoof, you cannot be an actor,” said Kher.

An intense performer, Kher called audience members up on stage during the Q&A session to give them a first-hand account of how he prepares as an actor. “You should be able to emote well when you act,” he told a young man who came up on stage to enact a scene with him. However, he was stern with those who looked disinterested, taking away the phone of a man who was busy with it. “You wouldn’t do that in a theatre, would you?” he asked the audience.