The Two Wives Of Anupam Kher | One With College Memories & Another For Lifetime Company

Before becoming one of the most successful Bollywood actors, and probably the most popular comedian in the country at the moment, Anupam Kher had struggled to find a role in the Hindi film industry during 1980s. He got married to Kirron Kher when he gained initial recognition for the movie Saaransh, but a few people knew that the woman who accompanied Aupam Kher before that moment was not Kirron only. She is Anupam Kher first wife, Madhumalti Kapoor.

Who is Anupam Kher first wife?

Anupam Kher’s first wife was Madhumalti Kapoor who was an actress in Hindi and Punjabi cinema and TV serials. Though Anupam Kher met his first wife at college, reports claimed that Anupam Kher first marriage with actress Madhumalti Kapoor in 1979 was an arranged marriage.

The comedian once admitted that he was not happy about the arranged relationship, and their marriage was in fact going rough times during 1979 - 1980s. Soon after their wedding, Anupam Kher and Madhumalti Kapoor filed for divorced.

Later, Madhumalti Kapoor got married to the writer and director Ranjit Kapoor but they have also parted ways after a while. Ranjit Kapoor is the brother of actor Anu Kapoor. Since her second divorce, Madhumalti remains living by herself till now.

• Madhumalti Kapoor filmography

Anupam Kher first wife Madhumalti Kapoor was born on 12 January, 1955 in Mumbai. She is 66 years old in 2021, of the same age as her ex-husband. She studied acting at the National School of Drama where she met Anupam Kher as her classmate.

Madhumalti has acted in many Hindi and Punjabi films but she is most known for her role in the action film Gadar Ek Premkatha by Anil Sharma. She worked with veteran Bollywood actors Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel in this movie.

Some other movies and TV serials that Madhumalti has participated in are Political Asylum (2004), Des Ho Ya Pardes (2004), Mini Punjab (2009), De De Pyar De (2019), Ek Larki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019) and Humsafar (2020).

Anupam Kher second wife Kirron Kher

When Anupam Kher married his first wife Madhumalti, he just graduated from acting school for over a year. Several years after that witnessed his struggle in theatres to get a major role for recognition. While working in a theatre in Chandigarh, Anupam Kher met Kirron Singh, who later became his second wife.

• Kirron and Anupam Kher were soulmates before marriage

Kirron Singh was born in 1952, three years older than Anupam Kher. She got married to a Mumbai businessman Gautam Berry in 1980, just a few weeks after meeting each other. She gave birth to their son Sikandar in 1982.

Anupam Kher’s second wife Kirron Khan shared that when she worked in the theatre in Chandigarh, she was a close friend of Anupam Kher. They knew everything about the other but there was no attraction beyond a pure friendship. At that time, Anupam Kher was already married to Madhumalti.

However, things changed after Kirron got married. They both knew something were wrong in their marriages and they were not happy in those relationships at all. They were still doing plays together, then one day, they realized they had fallen in love with the other, maybe a long time ago.

“Well, I came to Bombay, I married Gautam, and we discovered that the marriage was just not happening. Anupam too had been married, and that had gone wrong. He and I were still good friends, doing plays together. I remember, we were going to Calcutta for Nadira Babbar's play, he came looking different, his head was shaved, for some film he was doing I think. When he was leaving the room, he looked back at me, and something passed between us.” – Kirron Kher shared in an interview.

• Anupam Kher was the first to propose

When they realized the feelings towards each other, it’s Anupam Kher who broke silence and proposed to Kirron first. Kirron said that:

"He came and knocked on my door, and said "I want to talk to you." He then said "I think I have fallen in love with you." And suddenly there was this immense, intense change, the chemistry exploded. I got a divorce and married him. He had nothing then.”

Having said that, the couple didn’t get married until Anupam Kher got a break in his film career. The movie Saaransh in 1984 directed by Mahesh Bhatt had brought Anupam Kher to nationwide recognition. It’s also his debut movie, which facilitated his successful screen career later.

In 1985, Kirron Singh divorced Gautam Berry to marry Anupam Kher in a private ceremony. Her son Sikandar also moved to live with her and Anupam Kher.

Anupam Kher’s stepson Sikandar Kher

Anupam Kher shared no children with his first wife Madhumalti Kapoor. After marrying Kirron Kher, he adopted Kirron’s son with Gautam as his stepson. Sikandar took Kher as his last name as well.

Anupam Kher stepson Sikandar Kher was born on 31 October 1982 in Mumbai. He studied The Doon School in Dehradun before enrolling in a short acting course at National School of Drama.

Sikandar Kher had his screen debut in 2008 movie Woodstock Villa produced by Sanjay Gupta and Ekta Kapoor. He was commented as having an engaging presence and impressive dialogue delivery. In recent years, Sikandar left impressions with several hits such as Players (2012), Tere Bin Laden 2 (2016), and The Zoya Factor (2019). Sikandar Kher will co-star Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in their next release Sooryavanshi.

Anupam Kher used to engage to Priya Singh, cousin of Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, in January 2016 but the two then called off their engagement only two months later.

Final words

Putting aside the story of Anupam Kher first wife and their complicated marriage facts, Anupam Kher is a talented actor of Bollywood. He is also among very few Indian actors working in Hollywood movies as well as has gained a number of global awards for his contributions.

Though his latest work, the 2019 biographical drama movie The Accidental Prime Minister didn’t live up to expectations from the general audience, Anupam Kher’s fimography is arguably a precious heritage of the entire Hindi film industry.

>>> Read more on Starbiz.com: 10 Best Anupam Kher Comedy Films You Should Not Miss