Four years ago on February 10, Anupam Kher’s father Pushkernath Kher passed away, and his final words to Anupam were, “Live life.” He was a man with a different idea of life, he celebrated successes and failures. “So instead of having an atmosphere of mourning, I decided to have a party with a thousand kids,” says Kher.
Image source: Anupam Kher/Facebook
So on February 10, 2016, the St. Andres Stadium in Bandra in Mumbai turned into a giant floor for the hundreds of special kids who were present there. “I wanted to call them The Children of a Greater God, because these children are special.” The kids were entertained by clowns, jesters, specially gifted singers, disadvantaged musicians and cartoon characters. And the star attraction of the night, apart from Anupam Kher himself, was singer Kailash Kher.
Image source: Anupam Kher/Facebook
Anupam Kher was also celebrating his recent conferment of the Padma Bhushan.
“My father was my greatest fan and admirer. He always loved the company of children and he celebrated life. When he passed away, instead of mourning his loss, I held a rock concert in his honour. If he were alive today, my father would have been the happiest man at seeing me receive the Padma Bhushan,” says Kher.
Image source: Anupam Kher/Facebook
Kher remembers his father with much fondness and love. “He used to have a trunk, and never allowed any of us to open it. When he passed away, I looked through it, and to my surprise it had newspaper cuttings from 30 years of my career. He had every single article about me cut and kept,” says an emotional Kher, “When I got my Padma Bhushan, the one person I missed was my father. He would have been so happy.”
Image source: Anupam Kher/Facebook
Anupam Kher has always been drawn to the cause of special children. During the 1990s, he regularly took time off his schedule to teach a weekly class at Dilkhush, the school for special children at Juhu in Mumbai.
That connection sparked the desire in Kher to start a Foundation to champion the cause and cater to the needs of such children in Mumbai. So he established the Anupam Kher Foundation in 2008 which has done much work in the field of education and palliative care.
Image source: Anupam Kher/Facebook
The celebration of Children of a Greater God also marks the setting up of a helpline ‘Anupam Cares’, to provide support for children in distress everywhere. It will be a global initiative.
Image source: Anupam Kher/Facebook
Kher’s ultimate aim is to build a model orphanage. “It has been in my mind for 15 years. Most of our orphanages are inadequate. Kids should not be kept in jails. The place should make them happy not gloomy,” says Kher, “It will take time but I will build one. This country has given me so much, and it is time to give back.”