MUMBAI: Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt penned a letter for actor Anupam Kher, celebrating his journey from playing B. V. Pradhan in his 1984 directorial ‘Saaransh’ to portraying Jatayu in the latest release ‘Ramayana’.
In his heartfelt note, Mahesh reflected on Anupam's transformation over the years, recalling their early days together and expressing pride in the actor's growth.
The message from Mahesh Bhatt read: “Anupam, from B. V. Pradhan in Saaransh to Jatayu in Ramayana — what a journey. The rise and the rise and the rise of you. I am so happy for you. I loved seeing you in Sweden. That experience seems to have entered your body somehow. You look different.”
“I saw the way you shook hands with people — your whole hand, your whole attention given to the person in front of you. You have never looked so sure of yourself, and so free of yourself. It took me back to that old woman in the park in Saaransh. Pradhan has let go of his son Ajay's ashes, and there she is, playing with the children. The way you looked at her. That was your Buddha moment. Life had struck you, and something of that moment has stayed in your eyes, your body, your heart. I saw it again in Sweden.”
Mahesh said that he keeps thinking of that 28-year-old actor and that 34-year-old filmmaker talking in the compound of my home in Pali Hill.
“What did we give each other that day? I don't know. I could never have imagined all that would follow. You make me so, so happy. I feel the happiness of someone who once held your hand and now watches you go where I could never have taken you.”
He concluded: “And somewhere, a boy from the hinterland will see you and dare to come here with his own impossible dream. What more can I ask for, Anupam? What more can I ask for? All my love, Mahesh Bhatt.”
Responding to the letter, Kher said he was the “happiest man on earth” and described the filmmaker's words as the “most beautiful certificate for 42 years of work”.
Anupam Kher wrote in the caption: ‘FROM SAARANSH TO JATAYU!’ A LETTER FROM MAHESH BHATT SAAB! Dear Bhatt Sahab, I am the happiest man on earth today. Your message came out of the blue yesterday, and I was completely unprepared for it. I read it with a heart full of gratitude and felt deeply humbled.”
“It was like receiving the most beautiful certificate for 42 years of work—and the warmest acknowledgement from the person who first opened the doors of cinema for me. You are so much more to me than the director of my first film, Saaransh.”
Anupam said Mahesh is his “mentor, my friend and my teacher.”
“To receive these words from one of the finest directors, writers and authors of our country means more to me than I can express. Thank you for believing in me, for seeing my journey with such generosity, and for being such an important part of my life.”
“I will keep striving to do work that makes you proud—and perhaps earn a letter like this from you every now and then. With immense gratitude and love, Anupam.”