'After 38 Years In Cinema, I¡¯m On Main Poster Of A Film': Anupam Kher On ¡®Shiv Shastri Balboa¡¯
The film, directed by Ajayan Venugopalan, is being touted as a compelling account of an Indian man's struggle to make it in a small American community.
In 2022, critics and audiences liked Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta's movies. While Neena was seen in ¡®Uunchai¡¯, ¡®Goodbye¡¯ and ¡®Vadh¡¯, Anupam gave a solid performance in the massively successful ¡®The Kashmir Files¡¯.
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Both actors are set to share the screen in the upcoming family entertainer ¡®Shiv Shastri Balboa¡¯.
After more than three decades in the industry, veteran actor Anupam Kher finally gets to portray a title role in his upcoming feature film, Shiv Shastri Balboa.
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The film, directed by Ajayan Venugopalan, is being touted as a compelling account of an Indian man's struggle to make it in a small American community.
Kher, who co-stars with Neena Gupta in Shiv Shastri Balboa', said he is happy for the both of them to have received the opportunity to finally shoulder a film.
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"Neena and I have been doing so much work for years. Now, we have got this recognition. Earlier, I would have a small face on a film poster. After 38 years in the movie business, I am on the main poster with my heroine. That is a great achievement."
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"All this you can achieve with hard work and not necessarily (with) stardom. In my 37 years of career, there are many people who came and went, but we are still here," the actor, known for "Saraansh", "Karma", and "The Kashmir Files", told reporters here on Tuesday evening.
He was speaking at the trailer launch of "Shiv Shastri Balboa".
Gupta, who saw a career resurgence following films such as "Badhaai Ho", "Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar" and Netflix series "Masaba Masaba", said she feels blessed not to get stereotyped as a mother on screen.
"I am getting to do good roles close to my age. I am not just playing the mummy roles. In one film, I am playing the title role. It is a very big thing for me," she said.
"This divide between supporting actors shouldn¡¯t be there. An actor is an actor, irrespective of whether they are in a supporting role, I will do my job honestly as an actor," she added.
Shiv Shastri Balboa also features The Family Man star Sharib Hashmi and Nargis Fakhri of Rocksta fame.
Fakhri said she was thrilled to play a supporting role in "Shiv Shastri Balboa", which she describes as a realistic film.
"I have seen the change that has happened in the past couple of years. Many movies and series are happening on OTT, I have seen that content is the most important thing. When I read this story, I knew it was original and real, and the characters are important to the story. I am a supporting actor (in this film), I believe without me it (story) will be incomplete," she added.
Hashmi said he is thrilled to be part of the film and paired opposite Fakhri.
A day after the trailer launch of ¡®Shiv Shastri Balboa¡¯, the movie¡¯s lead stars, Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta, who had a successful film run in 2022, spoke about the pressure regarding the fate of their films coming out this year.
Speaking to ANI on the subject, Anupam said,
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"I think I can speak for both of us. We¡¯re not the type of actors who became an actor by mistake or chance. We have spent our life on this, we have gone to training school. Yes, we want films to work, so we get opportunities to work in more films like this."
"However, even if it doesn¡¯t happen, work, life doesn¡¯t stop, we will work even harder," he added.
"Shiv Shastri Balboa" will hit theaters on February 10.
(With PTI and ANI inputs)
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