Anupam Kher & Waheeda Rehman Movies Together List — 3 Films

The shape of the work

The 1990s belonged to Lamhe; the 2000s to Rang De Basanti. Strictly Hindi cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Waheeda Rehman was Yash Chopra's first and only choice for the role of the older, graceful Pooja in Lamhe (1991). But she initially refused, uncomfortable with the age-gap romance. Chopra convinced her by flying to her home and narrating the entire script — she signed on only after hearing the full story.
• In Lamhe, Anupam Kher played her devoted servant — a role that required him to be completely subservient. Kher later said Waheeda's quiet dignity on set made him instinctively lower his voice and soften his gestures. He wasn't acting; her presence made him feel like a servant.
• On the sets of Lamhe, Waheeda Rehman would often cook home-style Hyderabadi biryani for the crew. Anupam Kher, a self-confessed foodie, made it a point to sit next to her during lunch breaks. He later joked that he signed Om Jai Jagadish (2002) just for another chance to eat her cooking.
• Their third film together, Rang De Basanti (2006), marked the first time Waheeda Rehman played a mother figure to Anupam Kher's character. That role reversal — from servant to mother — became a talking point in film circles. It directly inspired casting director Shanoo Sharma to pair them again in a short film about aging, though that project never got made.
• "She is the only co-star who made me forget my lines. I would just watch her and lose track of the scene. In Lamhe, I had to be reminded by the director to speak my dialogue." — Anupam Kher, during a 2016 stage event honoring Waheeda Rehman.