It’s almost impossible to classify the variety of roles Anupam Kher has played in 280 odd films in a distinguished career spanning 25 years. They have ranged from a doting father (Daddy -1989) to a viscious terrorist Dr. Dang (Karma – 1986) to a bumbling comic (Ram Lakhan – 1989) and beyond. An outstanding alumnus of the renowned National School of Drama, Delhi, Anupam Kher did have a spell of struggle early on when he landed in Mumbai with stars in his eyes. His goal then was to get into films and do "something different". But the ‘something’ was not easy to define. He made a tentative beginning in Muzaffar Ali’s Aagman (1982), ironically meaning the beginning, before Mahesh Bhatt risked casting him, a 28-year-old, in the challenging role of a 65-year-old retired man struggling to come to terms with the death of a grown up son, in his Saaransh (1984). A never-say-die Anupam grabbed the challenge with both hands to come up with a virtuoso-like performance, which won him a national award for the best actor, in 1984. It was the kind of break the actor in him needed. There was no stopping him after that. At one stage he became as important to a Hindi film as raw stock. His body of work includes such films as Raosaheb (1986), Aakhree Raasta (1986), Pestonjee (1988), Tezaab (1988), Chaalbaaz (1989), Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin (1991), Lamhe (1991) and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1994) to name a few. He was also outstanding in Gurinder Chaddha’s English film Bend it like Bekham (2002) and Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara (2005), which he produced. His compelling performance in Maine Gandhi Ko.. won him a special jury award at the 2006 National Awards.

Anupam, who has been into theatre (Salgirah), tried his hand at directing a film (Om Jai Jagadish) in 2003, but without success. He has been successfully running an acting school, An Actor Prepares.