Anupam Kher
The Kashmir Files earned the National Award, which actor Anupam Kher says makes it all the more special because it was named the Best Feature Film on National Integration.
What has Anupam Kher had to say?
When thanking the Ketan Mehta-led jury, Kher says, “When you do your finest job, you anticipate things to occur. We had high hopes about it getting the national award. Whatever transpired after the release, we never anticipated winning in this area. We never anticipated winning in this category with all that happened, but I can speak for the director, Vivek Agnihotri because he is currently abroad. All skeptics of this movie’s goal have had their doubts dispelled by this national award. This award in this category has made us both smile twice.
“I am happy”: Kher
Kher adds, “Sometimes you don’t even want to give a slap to people who thought otherwise,” when asked if he sees this as a response to everyone who branded it a propaganda project. We want to keep celebrating because the time is right.
His desire to receive recognition for his role in the film, however, has not been granted. “This is without a doubt one of my best performances, so I would have wanted to receive a National Award for acting as well. But as I stated (in my social media post), if a poor person is the main breadwinner, then aage kaam karne ka maza kaise aayega,” he adds.
After applauding the other winners, Kher continues, “Sometimes the only thing you have to demonstrate when you don’t win an award is grace. It is not intended to cast doubt on the winner. Allu Arjun won Best Actor for Pushpa, and Pankaj Tripathi won Best Supporting Actor for Mimi. All of these actors are extremely skilled and deserving of praise. But when it comes to performances, I am pretty impartial, and The Kashmir Files was one of my best. It would have been excellent because they present honors in three to four different categories. However, once more, I would say that it’s merely an observation rather than a complaint.
Anupam has an executive producer
Kher further revealed that, in addition to acting in the movie, he also served as its executive producer with the announcement of the National Award. I asked Vivek for the position of executive producer, and he graciously granted it. I wanted to do that since I’m a Pandit from Kashmir. But we never discussed it,” he claims. Kher believed that it was important to reveal that now since he believes he “played a part in winning this special category award.”
