“Her success graph makes me doubly happy and proud!,” Anupam Kher on former student Deepika Padukone
Anupam Kher was a proud teacher when he ran into his former student Deepika Padukone at Dubai International Airport. Anupam expressed his delight at Deepika’s success since she began her acting career at his academy. On Tuesday, he posted photos from the meeting to his Instagram account.
The photos showed him sitting in a chair while Deepika posed with him, her hands on his shoulders. Anupam also shared a selfie with Deepika. He captioned the photographs, “Happy to meet talented Ms. @deepikapadukone at Dubai airport! She being alumni of @actorprepares her success graph makes me doubly happy and proud! Jai Ho!”
Deepika, who made her acting debut in 2007 alongside Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om, had studied for three months at Anupam Kher’s film academy Actor Prepares. Later, she collaborated with Anupam on the 2011 film Desi Boyz, in which he portrayed her father.
Anupam previously admitted to making Deepika cry in one of his classes. “She was good at everything, punctual, and would do things with finesse. I felt that she wanted to do everything perfectly. My point is, acting is not about perfection, it’s about the rough edges too. One day, to break her composure of being a perfectionist, I gave her an exercise in improvisation. I told her ‘you work as a bai (maid) in a house, there is nothing called ‘perfection’ (about her)’. She was spick and span about mannerisms, but her character wouldn’t know how to use a fork and a knife. That went on for 45 minutes… till I felt she had discovered (new things). I think she started crying!”
Deepika most recently appeared in Shakun Batra’s Gehraiyaan. Pathaan, in which she co-stars with Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham, will be her next film. She is also working on Nag Ashwin’s Project K with Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, and Disha Patani. She will also appear in Fighter alongside Hrithik Roshan and Anil Kapoor. Anupam Kher will next be seen in Uunchai, a Sooraj Barjatya film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Parineeti Chopra, Danny Denzongpa, and Boman Irani.
