The real reason why Anupam kher refused to play Hitler

It’s not only the concern and protests of people from all over the world about the actor playing the world’s greatest dictator that changedAnupam Kher’s mind about playing Adolf Hitler in a proposed Hindi film directed by debutant Rakesh Ranjan Kumar.

There was a bigger and more immediate reason why Anupam finally chose not to play the greatest dictator.

It was because of a call from his mentor Mahesh Bhatt’s wife Soni’s Razdan’s mother that Anupam finally wrenched himself away from what could’ve been the greatest challenge of his

Soni Razdan’s mother who’s a German called Anupam and said, “It’s not only the Jews who suffered because of Hitler. The Germans suffered too. I’m one and I know what I went through. Please don’t do anything to further the name of that blot from history.”

That did it for Anupam.

Says the prolific actor. “It was indeed Soni’s mother who made up my mind for me. There was also Sister Dolores who works with autistic children with me. Sister Dolores too told me that she was against my playing Hitler. These two women decided the matter for me. I was challenged to do a part that has been done abroad by many distinguished actors. But what is recognition, weighed against people’s sentiments?”

Anupam has now offered to compensate the producers by doing another project in lieu of the Hitler bio-pic. “But they are very upset at the moment. The director said he was misquoted about crediting Hitler with the independence of India. He even offered to apologize. However the observation he made was contrary to the ideals I follow as an actor. If he’s saying he would retract his statement because his project might fall apart, then he is not on the right track.”

Anupam is annoyed by the fact that his close friend Pritish Nandy has tweeted against Anupam’s decision to opt out of the Hitler film.

Reasons Anupam, “Pritish feels I should treat it like any other role since I have played black characters repeatedly in the past. But playing Dr Dang in Karm or Hannibal Lector in The Silence Of The Lambs is not the same as playing Hitler. Those villains did not affect history.”

The Dear Friend Hitler director Rakesh Ranjan Kumar is still waiting for Anupam to change his mind. “Hitler forced Mr Kher to pull out of the project. Gandhi who is the hero of my film is waiting for him to come back. Mr Kher’s fans suggested he leave the project. Now they’re going to force him to join back after knowing the full story.”

However Anupam says he won’t change his mind. But he will compensate the producers and director by doing another film for them, if they so wish.

The real reason why Anupam kher refused to play Hitler

It’s not only the concern and protests of people from all over the world about the actor playing the world’s greatest dictator that changedAnupam Kher’s mind about playing Adolf Hitler in a proposed Hindi film directed by debutant Rakesh Ranjan Kumar.

There was a bigger and more immediate reason why Anupam finally chose not to play the greatest dictator.

It was because of a call from his mentor Mahesh Bhatt’s wife Soni’s Razdan’s mother that Anupam finally wrenched himself away from what could’ve been the greatest challenge of his

Soni Razdan’s mother who’s a German called Anupam and said, “It’s not only the Jews who suffered because of Hitler. The Germans suffered too. I’m one and I know what I went through. Please don’t do anything to further the name of that blot from history.”

That did it for Anupam.

Says the prolific actor. “It was indeed Soni’s mother who made up my mind for me. There was also Sister Dolores who works with autistic children with me. Sister Dolores too told me that she was against my playing Hitler. These two women decided the matter for me. I was challenged to do a part that has been done abroad by many distinguished actors. But what is recognition, weighed against people’s sentiments?”

Anupam has now offered to compensate the producers by doing another project in lieu of the Hitler bio-pic. “But they are very upset at the moment. The director said he was misquoted about crediting Hitler with the independence of India. He even offered to apologize. However the observation he made was contrary to the ideals I follow as an actor. If he’s saying he would retract his statement because his project might fall apart, then he is not on the right track.”

Anupam is annoyed by the fact that his close friend Pritish Nandy has tweeted against Anupam’s decision to opt out of the Hitler film.

Reasons Anupam, “Pritish feels I should treat it like any other role since I have played black characters repeatedly in the past. But playing Dr Dang in Karm or Hannibal Lector in The Silence Of The Lambs is not the same as playing Hitler. Those villains did not affect history.”

The Dear Friend Hitler director Rakesh Ranjan Kumar is still waiting for Anupam to change his mind. “Hitler forced Mr Kher to pull out of the project. Gandhi who is the hero of my film is waiting for him to come back. Mr Kher’s fans suggested he leave the project. Now they’re going to force him to join back after knowing the full story.”

However Anupam says he won’t change his mind. But he will compensate the producers and director by doing another film for them, if they so wish.

Anupam Kher is the dictator, Neha Dhupia his wife – will it work?

Indian history has been revised time and again on celluloid, but debutant director Rakesh Ranjan Kumar moves into a global canvas with ‘Dear Friend Hitler’ to capture the last few days of the Nazi dictator in his Berlin bunker and Germany after his downfall in 1945.

"My film aims to recapture the last days of Adolf Hitler," Rakesh, who is perhaps the first Indian filmmaker to attempt a movie on Hitler, said.

"It shows Hitler in his underground bunker and portrays his relationship with his close associates. It aims to capture the personality of Adolf Hitler and his insecurities, his charisma and his paranoia during the last few days of his life," he added.

World War II and Hitler have been subjects of enduring fascination through the decades with films like ‘Hitler: The Last Ten Days’ (1973), ‘Downfall’ (2004) and the Tom Cruise-starrer ‘Valkyrie’ (2008). But this will be a first for Indian cinema.

Rakesh has roped in the versatile Anupam Kher to play the lead role; Neha Dhupia will portray his wife Eva Braun who was 23 years younger to him.

Rakesh maintains that the film also shows how Hitler contributed to India's independence and what happened to soldiers in Subhas Chandra Bose's Azad Hind Legion in Germany.

"It shows Hitler's love for India and how he indirectly contributed to Indian independence. It also depicts the struggle for survival of the lesser known Indian Legion soldiers who were left in Germany by Subhas Bose to fight for India's independence and Germany's prestige," said Rakesh.

Though volumes have been written about the dictator, very little information is available about his wife Eva who was a model before she met him. ‘Dear Friend Hitler’ focuses on that too.

"The film will not show the love life of Adolf Hitler. It will show Eva who had been rarely spoken about in the history. Eva had been Hitler's girlfriend since she was 17 years old. The film shows how she comes in his life in his last days. They got married 42 hours before he died (April 30, 1845)."

Though the backdrop is World War II, Rakesh insists his is not a war movie.

"By the title, people might take it as a periodic or war film, but we have portrayed neither. Rather it's a war of conscience going on in the mind of Hitler," he said.

The film is expected to go on the floors next month.