Having spent almost four decades in the film industry, with 532 films to his credit, actor Anupam Kher’s body of work speaks volumes. Unstoppable at 67, he continues to reinvent himself and 2022 proved to be a game changer for him, with three hits — The Kashmir Files, Karthikeya 2 and Uunchai. He feels glad that these films allowed him to present Anupam Kher 2.0 version to his fans. As 2022 nears the end, the actor talks about “the most successful year” of his career. Excerpts:

It’s been an amazing year with the success of the unconventional films I did, and that makes it more joyous, as they weren’t typical films. I am not looking down upon regular Hindi films, but to get success with The Kashmir Files, Karthikeya 2 and Uunchai, is a delightful feeling. Though I feel I’ve survived for 38 years because of the kind of actor I am and the roles I’ve done, this year proves that box office is now a bigger barometer than acting and performance.

The Kashmir Files is a turning point in Indian cinema. When 30 or 40 years later, we’ll talk about Indian cinema and its growth, people will say, ‘Cinema before The Kashmir Files and after The Kashmir Files’. As a film, it’s cinematic brilliance, something India should be proud of. Also, the subject of exodus of Kashmiri Pandits is close to my heart. We’ve been talking about this for the last 32 years, but people weren’t believing it. The film made people realise the truth. Also, besides its heart-touching story, people also embraced the film because of the guilt.

Audiences have always been intelligent. We only underestimate them due to our insecurities. A good film either does well commercially or becomes cult after a few years. With all the propaganda and opposition, the film collected more than Rs. 75 crore overseas.

I only have two scenes in the film, but I liked the concept. Interestingly, just before I was to give my first shot, I asked the director (Chandoo Mondeti), ‘What if I say the lines as a blind man?’ It was a last-minute thing, but he was kind enough, and that worked. When I watched the film in the theatre, I couldn’t hear any dialogue, as people were whistling, screaming and shouting. Every dialogue was getting so much applause. It was fascinating.

This film would have worked any day. Also, my personal philosophy of life matched the philosophy of the film, which is: Life starts at 60 and all of us have a Mount Everest in our hearts and we need to conquer that. The movie was endearing because we had all gone through so much in the last two years [of the pandemic], and we were all trying to find our strength, hope, compassion and dreams. Uunchai gave us that.

My upcoming releases are IB 71, Kaagaz 2, The Signature and Emergency. These are very fascinating and different kind of films. 2022 was a great year because these non-clichéd films worked. Next year, I may not have this kinds of success, but life is beautiful.