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Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher participated in a session titled Giving Up Is Not a Choice at the 56th International Film Festival of India in Goa on Sunday. During the session, he inspired the audience with stories from his personal and professional journey, highlighting how he turned failures into successes. Anupam recalled that even after his 2002 sports comedy Bend It Like Beckham became a commercial hit, the film’s producer Deepak Nayar offered him the same fee for their next project. The actor, however, refused to settle for the proposed salary and persuaded the producer in his own style.
Recalling the moment at a five-star hotel’s coffee shop, Anupam shared, “I did Bend It Like Beckham for 5000 pounds. Its producer was going to make another film. He came to meet me at a hotel’s coffee shop and asked how much money I wanted for the role. He said he will offer the same amount I got for the previous one. I questioned him, ‘You made 100 million from that film, why will you give me only that much money?’”
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When the producer hesitated, Anupam got up on the table and told everyone about their conversation. He said, “The coffee shop was full of people at 10 am in the morning. I stood up on the table instantly and shouted, ‘Hello friends. This guy is Deepak Nayar. He gave me 5000 pounds for Bend It Like Beckham, but now he doesn’t want to give me full money for another film.’”
The actor added, “He asked me to sit, but I kept on going, ‘Paise deraha hai ki nahi? (Will you give the money I ask for?)’ He agreed, asked me to sit and then I sat down. Because giving up is not a choice.”
Besides Bend It Like Beckham, Anupam Kher was also a part of producer Deepak Nayar’s 2005 romantic drama The Mistress Of Spices.
