For Anupam Kher, his relationship with Kirron Kher began long before romance entered the picture. Recalling their early years as friends, the actor revealed that he had never imagined marrying Kirron, despite the two sharing a close bond for years before eventually falling in love and tying the knot in 1985.
Speaking to Times Now, the veteran actor opened up about their friendship, his first impressions of Kirron and the unexpected turn that changed their lives.
Anupam recalled meeting Kirron during their days at the Department of Indian Theatre in Chandigarh, where she was already a well-known figure among students.
“Kirron was one year senior to me in the Department of Indian Theatre in Chandigarh. She was a star. She played badminton (doubles) for India with her sister, and did English plays. I never even thought something would ever happen with her. But she had the largest heart,” he said.
Even after moving to Mumbai, the two remained close friends. At the time, Kirron was married to businessman Gautam Berry, while Anupam was trying to establish himself in the film industry.
Sharing a humorous memory from those struggling days, Anupam said, “When I came to Bombay, she was married to Gautam. Satish Kaushik and I used to go to her house, and we would tell her that we would only visit you if you would give us the return taxi fare. So we used to take the taxi fare from her and then take a bus so that we could survive the week.”
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How friendship turned into love
According to Anupam, their relationship remained a friendship for a long time before circumstances brought them closer.
“So Kirron was a friend for a long time, till a possibility happened where I was going through a breakup and she was going through a tough time with her husband. And that’s how, at a certain stage, life changed.”
The actor added that if someone had told him in those years that he would one day marry Kirron, he would never have believed it.
“But before that, all my letters, even from my girlfriend, used to come to her house. That’s why I say ‘kuch bhi ho sakta hai (anything can happen)’. I had no idea that one day we would fall in love and get married. And yeah, its been 41 years now.”
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Anupam and Kirron tied the knot in 1985 after she ended her marriage with Gautam Berry. Kirron has a son, actor Sikandar Kher, from her first marriage.
What has kept their marriage strong
In an earlier conversation with Filmfare, Anupam shared what it takes to sustain a marriage for four decades, saying that mutual respect matters more than the idea of a perfect relationship.
“In a marriage of 40 years, it is very difficult to be only good. There are disappointments. My parents were married for 59 years, it was not the best marriage. The best of marriage is to have mutual respect for the other person,” he shared.
The actor also revealed that he and Kirron have never had a conventional husband-wife dynamic.
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“There is no ‘aap’. We are like equals. We don’t have a filmy atmosphere at my house. Kirron is hilarious. Not intentionally. But, I find her hilarious.”
Talking about the little quirks that come with spending decades together, he added, “She is superstitious. She also imagines things going wrong. This is not as much now, but this was there initially. Now, we all have our separate rooms, because everybody has their separate habits.”
Despite the ups and downs, Anupam believes friendship remains the strongest pillar of their relationship.
“My marriage has seen its ups and down. But what has stayed with us is an amazing amount of compassion, mutual respect, kindness and friendship. It is the most important thing.”
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Anupam Kher on not having children with Kirron
Earlier, during a conversation with journalist Shubhankar Mishra, Anupam also made a candid admission about a thought that occasionally crosses his mind.
The actor said that while he shares a close bond with Sikandar Kher, he sometimes wonders what it would have been like to have a child with Kirron.
“I didn’t feel it that much before, but now sometimes I do feel like it. I think in the last seven-eight years. Its not like, I am not happy with Sikander, but I think its a joy to see a child growing up. Its a joy to see bonding and this is an honest answer to you. I could have avoided to answer this, but I don’t want to do that. But, it’s okay. It’s not a tragedy in my life. But, I sometimes feel it would have been a nice thing,” he said.
