Robert De Niro wanted Anupam Kher out of a scene in Silver Linings Playbook; Kher gave the director ‘a piece of his mind’ in front of Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence

Also read – Kirron Kher’s son Sikander says he has two fathers, both were busy so not that much in his life: ‘Me and Anupam Kher give each other space’

Sikandar continued, “Robert De Niro is my father’s favourite. And he got a chance to work with him on Silver Linings Playbook. And there was a little situation on set, during rehearsal, De Niro thought that my father shouldn’t be in the scene. He felt that his character wouldn’t let my dad’s character in the house because he didn’t like him. He thought, let me just give them a piece of my mind. And he went and gave the director a piece of his mind in front of the whole set; there’s Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Chris Tucker, Robert De Niro… He explained to them why he should be in the scene. Director looks at De Niro and asks, ‘Bob?’ And De Niro said okay. My father is a nobody there, he’s from India. He could’ve lost that part. But he went there and just did it, and held on to his self-respect. That’s the stuff I need to learn.”

Sikandar said that he has two fathers; his birth father Gautam Berry, and Anupam. But both were busy when he was growing up, so he didn’t have a paternal presence around him. “When my mom and dad got divorced, I was with my other dad. But my other dad was becoming an actor and his career was flourishing, so he was mostly out of the house. Fathers are fathers. Fathers and sons are hectic,” he said. In recent years, Sikandar has made a comeback to the film industry with supporting roles in films such as Monica O My Darling and Monkey Man. He also appeared in the series Aarya and Citadel: Honey Bunny.