Mumbai, Nov 6 (IANS): Anupam Kher has touched four decades being in the industry and Sooraj Barjatya,with whom the actor has worked in films such as “Saaransh”, “Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!”, “Hum Saath-Saath Hain” and “Uunchai”, celebrated the milestone. The filmmaker also tagged the star as an “institution of acting.”

Rajshri Productions shared a monochrome picture of Anupam with Sooraj along with a note penned by the filmmaker.

The note read: “I have been a keen observer and a collaborator in Anupam Sir's 40 year old journey in our Hindi film industry. I was the fourth AD on Saaransh, his debut film and our relationship, association and fondness for each other started from there. He gave me my first job on the sets which was to get him the script of Saaransh.

“I directed him in Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Vivah, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and most recently in Uunchai.”

He revealed why the filmmaker and actor share a special bond.

“Anupamji has been a part of the milestone moments of my career and in a way, I have been too. I guess that's why our bond is extremely special,” he wrote.

“In a way, we have both seen each other grow, shared our highs and lows and our friendship has stood the test of time. Anupamji to me is an institution of acting,” he added.

“The more you keenly observe him, the more layers you see, the more subtlety you can observe on screen, learn from it and get awed by it. All aspiring and I would say successful actors of this generation should study Anupamji's acting to be better.”

Barjatya said that he was “blown away” by the trailer of “Vijay 69”.

“At 69, Anupamji is still hungry, still wanting more, still pushing himself to set new benchmarks. As someone I look up to, I cannot help but cheer him on in his quest for excellence with Vijay 69. There is no one like Anupamji.”

“I know he will move us to tears with another landmark performance in his 40th year in cinema. We are all lucky to have lived and seen his brilliance. Much regards, Sooraj Barjatya.”

The post was captioned as: “Celebrating 40 years of Anupam Kher … a common man with an extraordinary life journey. Anupam Kher only chased excellence. He is still doing that.. We wish him all the best for #Vijay69 - a film that will touch the hearts of everyone who sees it…”