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Father’s Day Special: Anupam Kher as the lovable father

18th June marks the wonderful occasion of Father’s day, it is a celebration of a beautiful bond between a father and their children.

‘Daddy’ (1989), ‘Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahi’ (1991 and ‘Bend it like Beckham’ (2002) are just some of the films that saw Anupam Kher play father to various characters. For this Father’s day BizAsiaLive.com will look at five roles by Kher as he is the ultimate lovable father in Bollywood.

‘Laadla’ (1994)
Kher played the role of Sridevi’s father in this family drama. Unlike most households where the father has control of the house, their house is very different. When Sheetal (Sridevi) arrives home it is Kher who runs around like a headless chicken scared of what tornado is coming his way. Every time his daughter is angry he senses danger and automatically opens up his umbrella that actually has the symbol of danger displayed on it.

While Sridevi brought drama into her scenes it was Kher that brought relief as his scenes were so comical. Laxminarayan (Kher) was a father who loved his daughter a lot but was scared of her anger more.

‘Papa Kehte Hain’ (1996)
Sweety (Mayuri Kango) has lived with her mother’s side of the family. While she received a lot of love from them and her mother she was never allowed to ask about her father. Now a teenager she leaves home without her family knowing and goes across the world in search of her father. After some convincing lies Sweety (Kango) ends up at a hotel in Seychelles where she is staying under another person’s name. When the real owner of the room Anand (Kher ), arrives she pretends that she is his daughter while he denies the whole thing.

Eventually he agrees to let her stay and with time they begin to have a father daughter like bond unaware that they are actually related. It was an interesting role by Kher because at first his character doesn’t want to have anything to do with this girl, he doesn’t want to be a father but with time he begins to see this girl as his own giving her love and advice like any father would.

 ‘Wake Up Sid’ (2009)
Sid (Ranbir Kapoor) had a great life, no stress, no money issues it was all just about fun. His father on the other hand (Kher) was worried about his son and what would become of his future.  Mr Mehra (Kher) was a loving father but what he showed his son was tough love as he wanted him to stand up on his own two feet.

This role of his seemed more realistic as he wasn’t always happy or cracking jokes. Kher showed that side to a father that makes sacrifices for his son, the one who wants to see his son rise and do better than him. The scene when Sid (Kapoor) offers his first cheque to his father was such an emotional moment as the pride could be seen on his father’s face. His father doesn’t mind what career his son chooses as long as he puts his heart and soul into it, this scene showed that support from a father to his child.

‘Bride & Prejudice’ (2004)
Mr Bakshi (Kher) is the proud father of four daughters and is in no rush to get them married. His wife however is the opposite and is constantly on the lookout for suitable grooms. Mr Bakshi (Kher) is a doting father but when needs be he can be strict especially when it comes to his youngest daughter. His wife played by Nadira Babbar is in charge of the house matters while he has to listen to his wife.

One scene that really stands out in the film is when Mrs Bakshi (Babbar) wants her daughter Lalita (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) to marry Mr Kohli (Nitin Ganatra) and threatens that if she doesn’t marry him then she won’t talk to her ever again. At that point Mr Bakshi (Kher) says to his daughter that if she says yes to this proposal then he won’t speak to her again. The love and support that he has for his daughters is beautiful.

‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ (1995)
Mr Malhotra (Kher) was less of a father and more of a friend to his son. Shah Rukh Khan was the cool Raj who wanted to enjoy life but when it came to studying that wasn’t his thing. When he fails at university he comes home worried about his father’s reaction but is rather surprised when his father pops open a bottle of champagne. This scene was so comical because Mr Malhotra (Kher) goes through his lineage and tells his son about how all of his ancestors had failed when it came to studying but his son was way ahead of them all as he failed abroad.

There were so many wonderful scenes between Raj (Khan) and Mr Malhotra (Kher) that showed the audience that the father had a lot of love for his son and pushed him in the matters of enjoying life and getting his love.

BizAsiaLive.com wishes its readers a happy father’s day!