DIVYA  HIMACHAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE TO SHRI  ANUPAM KHER   

Divya Himachal Award for excellence 2005 was conferred to Shri Anupam Kher  on 2nd June 2000 at  "The Club House",  Mcleod Ganj, Dharamsala, with the blessings of  H.H. Dalai Lama and in the presence of the Chairman of Divya Himachal Bhanu Dhamija, the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile, Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche and the Chief Editor of Divya Himachal, Anil Soni.

                                  Anupam Kher A Role Model

I have never judged life.. If had, I would have been a complete mess " Perhaps it is this attitude that explains the steady evolvement of Anupam Kher, both as a person and as an actor over his twenty years in the Indian Film industry. Moving from very humble beginnings to acquire a gold medal at the National School of Drama, Anupam Kher started his career through the expression that mattered most to him -Theatre. He has always made time for the stage, having acted in more than a hundred plays iJlcluding "Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai", which is currently being staged successfully allover the world.

However, there is no denying that Anupam Kher is a talent mainly associated with the silver screen. With over three hundred films to his credit, some of which are irreplaceable in their performance and value, Anupam Kher has made an indelible impression in the minds of his Audience as one of India's finest actors. With Gurinder Chaddha's Bend it like Beckham' & 'Bride and Prejudice' he has now forayed into the international arena with challenging projects at hand.  

A man of many anibitions, 1994 saw the launch of his own entertainment company, J. Radical Entertainment Co. (I) Pvt. Ltd. to provide the highest quality of cinema and television entertainment, and has projuced some very popular and unsual progrmmes in the last ten years. He took an important step further by producing his first film 'Bariwali' that went on to receive rave reviews in the international press with invitations to ten international film festivals. The film was felicitated with the NETPAC Award for being the most outstanding

Asian Film at the Belin International Film Festival and the Best Feature Film Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival. BARIWALI won two of the most prestigous National Awards held at the National Film Festival in New Delhi, June 2000 for the Best Actress and the Best Supporting Actress. Under Curtain Call Co. which he launched in 2003, he has currently produced his first Hindi film 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara ' which stars himself, with Waheeda Rehman, Urmila Matondkar, Prem Chopra, Boman Irani and Parvin Dabas.

Dipped in films, theatre and television, Anupam Kher's brush strokes give us a resplendent canvas that bears the weight of the innumerable Personal awards too. Not only has he to his credit the Special National Jury Award for 'Daddy' and the Actor of the Decade Award (Millennium Honours) among others, but,he also happens to hold the record for being the only actor in the industry to have won eight Filmfare Awards in a row.

And yet, Anupam Kher is more than just a success story with a celluloid image. In the recent past, he has successfully held positions as the Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification and the National School of Drama. He is currently the Chairman and Managing Director of' Actor Prepares' a school for talented individuals who wish to pursue careers as actor- performers in the entertainment industry. Over a period of three months, this intensive professional-level course provides an in- depth training and specialisation within the acting field. The school aims to prepare competent and professionally committed actors, skilled in every aspect of an actor's art and craft-physical, mental and emotional. Anupam Kher has always concerned himself with causes that kept him grounded and let him make a difference. He has taught special children for several years, is one of the founder members of People for Animals and has attended and organized numerous fund raising shows