Veteran actor Anupam Kher, who is basking in the success of his films The Kashmir Files and Karthikeya 2, has reacted to director Anurag Kashyap's remarks about filmmaker Adiya Chopra and his production banner yash Raj Films. The actor also did not shy away from speaking his mind about why he thinks some of the biggest films have failed at the box office this year. He said that it is the past of certain stars, comments and remarks made by them, unearthed by social media users, that are now haunting them and adding fuel to the boycott campaigns.
An indianexpress.com report quotes Anupam Kher as saying, "I am very, very proud of Aditya Chopra. Yash ji's family is like my own family. To build an empire like Yash Raj Films is not an easy thing."
Anupam Kher's remarks come in the wake of Anurag Kashyap's recent disparaging comments about Aditya Chopra. For the unversed, recently, Anurag had said in an interview with Galatta Plus about Aditya Chopra that he should not dictate the people he hires, not control the casting, not control everything.
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Anurag had said, "You have one person sitting in a cave, who doesn’t know the world outside, dictating how everybody should be making their films and telling them what to do. Obviously you’re digging your own grave… You have to empower people, you can’t dictate terms. That time is passe now. If Aditya Chopra has hired a bunch of people, he needs to empower them and not dictate them, not control the casting, not control everything. Sit in your office, hire good people if you trust them, and let them make their film. Which is the mistake he makes. He doesn’t let them (be)."
Meanwhile, Anupam Kher added that Anurag Kashyap is not the 'ultimate authority on human behaviour'.
Anupam Kher also spoke about the series of box office flops delivered by the Hindi film industry and his comment on people's past catching up and coming to bite them. To this, while denying that he was hinting at Aamir Khan in particular, Kher said, "People understand who I'm hinting at. I've also made some statements that haunt me. But I am for my country first, if anybody does not say nice things about my country, I feel a little hurt."
"You shouldn't say not nice things about people when they're films haven’t worked. I am pained if somebody’s film has not worked. We all make (controversial statements), but when you’re in a position of responsibility, you have to make responsible statements," Anupam Kher added.
For the uninformed, Anupam Kher has been part of several hit films backed by YRF. Recalling the old days, Anupam recently told Times Now Navbharat in an interview that although he used be their (Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar's) 'darling',, things have changed for unknown reasons. He said, "I am not a part of mainstream cinema in India today. I am not. I am not doing any Karan Johar film, I am not doing any Sajid Nadiadwala film, I am not doing any Aditya Chopra film because the offers have not come. I was a darling of all these people. I have done everybody's films. But I am not blaming them for not casting me anymore. But because they were not casting me in their films, I found a path where I did a Tamil film called Connect, I did a Telugu film called Tiger Nageswara Rao. I have also done Sooraj Barjatya’s Uunchai."
Elaborating how he rediscovered his love for acting and found a different path, he had added, "Otherwise I could have sat down & said, ‘Arey yaar mere dost aur mere jo itne kareebi they ek zamaane mein, mujhe ab lete nahin hain filmon mein toh main ab kya karoon main toh barbaad ho gaya (Who were once my friends are now ignoring me and not offering films).’ Of course mujhe takleef hoti hai, dukh hota hai ki kyun nahin lete bhai main toh inki sab filmon mein kaam karta tha (It pains, hurts because I used to work with them. But, it’s not a complaint & neither am I holding it against them. I am just saying that sometimes when one door shuts, so many other windows and doors open)."
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