“Amazingggg....”

We are tempted to use Riteish Deshmukh’s exact spelling of the word when congratulating the fabulous Anupam Kher on his recent British Academy Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) nomination…Those extra g's are perfectly justified!

The multi-faceted actor has bagged the prestigious Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the BBC TV movie, The Boy with the Topknot. Kher responded to the news saying, “Thank you for the nomination. I feel honored and humbled.” It is no mean honor to be singled out for this distinction. The BAFTA, a highly prestigious awards institution which has been in existence since 1947, is, after all, the British equivalent of the Oscars.

All eyes in the subcontinent will be peeled to see if Kher also lands the award at the ceremony to be held in the UK. Nominated alongside Adrian Dunbar for Line Of Duty, Brian F O'Byrne for Little Boy Blue and Jimmi Simpson for the Black Mirror episode titled USS Callister, the BAFTA nomination is a testimony to Kher’s enormous clout as a performer. He was picked for his portrayal as Satnam’s father in the adaptation of Satnam Sanghera's memoirs The Boy with the Topknot, a TV film.

At 63 and with more than 500 films to his credit, Anupam Kher is an institution in himself as far as the art and craft of acting goes. While he is mainly known for his work in Hindi films, he has also acted in acclaimed international films such as the 2002 Golden Globe-nominated Bend It Like Beckham, Ang Lee's 2007 Golden Lion-winning Lust, Caution, and David O. Russell's 2013 Oscar-winning Silver Linings Playbook. His shelves are lined with awards aplenty, from numerous Filmfare Awards for Best Performance in a Comic Role, to many popular awards for Best Supporting Actor. His performance in Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara won him the Best Actor honors at the National awards, the Karachi International Film Festival and the Riverside International Film Festival California, no less.

Fact is, few actors have played such a vast range of challenging roles with such ease and enchantment. His performances are proof of his abilities and caliber, and best of all, his knack for constantly springing surprises on the audience. Kher was just 28 when he wrenched hearts, playing an elderly Maharashtrian man coming to terms with the death of his only son in a mugging incident in New York, in Saaransh. Till today, the film stands out as one of the best films of the Eighties. The alcoholic father of Daddy, the police commissioner of A Wednesday, the meek man who stands up for his rights in Khosla Ka Ghosla, Kher’s standout performances are too many to pinpoint…

Bottom line is, this Padma Shi and Padma Bhushan awardee is justifiably considered one of the Hindi film screen’s finest character actors, his performances lingering in the consciousness long after the films end. His secret is really too simple to qualify as a secret – “In every role that I do - whether I'm a teacher, actor or mentor - I do it with total dedication and as much honesty as I feel is required because there's no alternative to honesty and hard work.”The truly great just keep it simple!