Anupam Kher’s father died of starvation, rejected food and water as it tasted like sand and acid: ‘He spoke to me, died after 20 minutes’

It was one such meeting that proved life-changing, his introduction to filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. Bhatt cast him in Saaransh (1984), a role that would become a turning point in his career. Portraying a 60-year-old man mourning the loss of his only son, Anupam’s performance earned him widespread critical acclaim. In the same conversation, Anupam also opened up about one of the most emotional chapters of his life: the death of his father. The actor recalled the deeply personal and surreal experience of watching his father slowly succumb to an illness that made food and water unbearable for him.

Also Read | ‘Was kicked out of Mr India and replaced by Amrish Puri; felt belittled, hurt, jealous’, says Anupam Kher

“He died of starvation because he got a strange disease, where, for him, food started to feel like sand. And water felt like acid. So he would throw things away. He became very frail,” he shared. Anupam recaleld that by the end, his father could not gather much energy to communicate and tried to write something for his son, but could only manage to draw some lines.

“Because he didn’t have the energy to form words or sentences. To make him feel better, I just responded in a very generalised way, ‘Of course.’ He looked a little disappointed. Then he called me closer. I leaned in, my ears almost touching his mouth. And this man, who was going to die in the next 20 minutes, whispered his last two words to me: ‘Live life.’ That was phenomenal. A dying man… telling you to live life. Because he had lived his,” he recalled.