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The Khers’ ‘ER’ experience
MUMBAI: Even as he is battling censorship issues, Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief, Anupam Kher, is also busy making more of a mark for himself overseas. Kher was back last week after completing the shooting, along with his partner Kirron Kher, for a guest appearance in the hit medical saga ER.
The series centers on medical personnel in the emergency room of a Chicago hospital. ER is a creation and produced by best-selling author Michael Crichton, who has also authored Jurassic Park.
The filming took place in Los Angeles, Kher informed indiantelevision.com. He said that his wife and he play the role of Parminder Nagra’s (the Bend It Like Beckham star) parents and that appearance is limited to a single episode only, which is to be telecast in the first week of October.
Parminder Nagra in ‘ER’
“We had four scenes, one short one, while the others are longer. We were there for eight days, though we shot for only three. The remaining days were spent in understanding the role, travelling, et al. But we were paid for the full eight days,” he points out.
He says that Kirron and he shot at the Warner Brothers studio which has facilities that stretch to an area of almost a city. They were remarkable. There are separate buildings for make-up, editing, dubbing and every other aspect required. There are trailers. There are cars at your disposal even if you want to travel the smallest of distances. The air-conditioner comfort is there without the asking. Importantly, there are at least three stand-in reserves kept for rehearsals. At times, it pays to be on the other side than doing the rehearsal directly ourselves,” he continues.
“There is tremendous attention to detail,” he highlights. “Their preplanning is thorough. Detailed call sheets right from the time you are picked up from your hotel to the unit to the rehearsal to the final take – are charted out. You know what you are doing at 6 pm, 6:15 pm, 6:30 pm. You don’t waste a lot of time chatting like we do. Everyone is there for a job, and you have to do it well. From 7 am to 7 pm, you have to work. And because there is the fear of being fired, very few emotional excuses are resorted to.”
On the production side, he says ER is shot on 35 mm film and that raw stock there is least important. “They shoot the master shot first and then they shoot the same scene from various angles. And we have to be there to give cues to our co-actors. There is no resting. Most of it is shot using a Steadicam, you have long shots. The show has a battery of writers and seven assistant directors. David Zabel was the producer of our episode, while Paul McCrane (who also plays Dr Robert Romano) was the director.”
Moving on, Kher says that the locals easily recognised him in LA, simply because he had a substantial role in Gurinder Chaddha’s hit film Bend it like Beckham. “I don’t think there would be anybody there who hasn’t seen that film.”
Kher is also impressed with the budget that is used to shoot TV shows in the US of A. “There is no need to compare them with the budgets which are allotted to the TV shows in India. Believe it or not, the budget per episode of a TV show in the States is equivalent to the average budget alloted to a feature film in India.”
Kher has recently finished filming Gurinder Chadha’s second film Bride and Prejudice (Aishwarya Rai, Namrata Shirodkar, Meghna Kothari, Peeya Rai) and an episode of another serial Spooks (a BBC series) which will also be telecast in the US.
“On the international projects’ front, I also did a telefilm Second Generation. I am enjoying myself working in set-ups which have something different to offer. It’s such an enriching experience,” he adds.
Kher shot for Spooks earlier this year in April, while the Second Generation filming took place in December last year. Spooks has still not been telecast. It is expected to see the light of day in the last week of the on-going month.
Incidentally, Parminder stars in Second Generation too, which is a drama about the tangled relationships of two Indian families, stretching from Southall to Calcutta. It also stars Om Puri, Amita Dhiri, Rita Woolf and Danny Dyer. The drama, written by Neil Biswas, features music by Amar and Shahin Bada and a score by Nitin Sawhney.
Parminder plays the hot-headed fiercely independent – Heere Sharma, who fled her oppressive family nine years ago and is engaged to a journalist. Christopher Simpson plays Sam Khan, a DJ and boss of hip record label Monsoon Record, who is worried that he’s selling out. Sam and Heere are childhood sweethearts, while Kher fits in as Sam’s father.
In Bride and Prejudice, Kher plays father to the Rai, Shirodkar and Kothari, unable to pay their dowries owing to poor economic conditions in the family. Nadira Babbar plays his wife.
Anupam has acted in over 275 films in the last fifteen years. He has appeared in over ten TV plays, films and series and has his own chat show. He has also appeared in over 100 plays in the theatre and has directed fifteen. He has also produced a Bengali feature film Bariwali.
Directed by Rituparno Ghosh, Bariwali was the story of a lonely middle-aged spinster, Banolata (Kirron Kher) who is forced by circumstances to rent her family’s sprawling home to a film crew. Kirron won the National Award for her role in this film.
Just four months back, Kirron was honored with a tribute and screenings of Bariwali and also the award-winning Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters).
On date, the sensitive actress Kirron Kher can be seen on Indian television too, playing an evil ‘saas’ to ‘bahu’ Jyoti Mukerji (Rani Mukerji’s sister-in-law) in Sahara Manoranjan’s afternoon daily Prratima which inexplicably changed timings from its originally scheduled 2 pm to 3 pm and has failed to take off.
News Broadcasting
Induction cooktop demand spikes 30× amid LPG supply concerns
Supply worries linked to West Asia tensions push households and restaurants to turn to electric cooking alternatives
MUMBAI: As geopolitical tensions in West Asia ripple through global energy supply chains, the familiar blue flame in Indian kitchens is facing an unexpected challenger: electricity.
What began as concerns over the availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has quickly evolved into a technology-driven shift in cooking habits. Households across India are increasingly turning to induction cooktops and other electric appliances, initially as a backup but now, for many, a necessity.
A sudden surge in demand
Recent data from quick-commerce and grocery platform BigBasket highlights the scale of the shift. According to Seshu Kumar Tirumala, the company’s chief buying and merchandising officer, demand for induction cooktops has risen dramatically.
“Induction cooktops have seen a significant surge in demand, recording a fivefold jump on 10 March and a thirtyfold spike on 11 March,” Tirumala said.
The increase stands out sharply when compared with broader kitchen appliance trends. Most appliance categories are growing within 10 per cent of their typical demand levels, while induction cooktops have witnessed explosive growth as households rush to secure an alternative cooking option.
Major e-commerce platforms including Amazon and Flipkart have reported rising searches and orders for induction stoves. Quick-commerce apps such as Blinkit and Zepto have also witnessed stock shortages in major metropolitan areas including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
What was once considered a convenient appliance for hostels, small kitchens or occasional use has suddenly become an essential addition in many homes.
A crisis thousands of miles away
The trigger for this shift lies far beyond India’s kitchens.
Escalating conflict in the Middle East has disrupted shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy corridors. Nearly 85 to 90 per cent of India’s LPG imports pass through this narrow waterway, making the country particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions.
The ripple effects have been swift.
India currently meets roughly 60 per cent of its LPG demand through imports, and tightening global supply has already begun to affect domestic availability and prices.
Earlier this month, the price of domestic LPG cylinders increased by Rs 60, while commercial cylinders rose by more than Rs 114.
To discourage panic buying and hoarding, the government has also extended the mandatory waiting period between domestic refill bookings from 21 days to 25 days.
Restaurants feel the pressure
The strain is not limited to households. Restaurants, hotels and roadside eateries are also grappling with supply constraints as commercial LPG availability tightens under restrictions imposed through the Essential Commodities Act.
In cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai, restaurant associations report that commercial LPG availability has dropped by as much as 75 per cent, forcing many establishments to rethink their kitchen operations.
Some restaurants have reduced menu offerings, while others are rapidly installing high-efficiency induction systems, creating hybrid kitchens where electricity now shares the workload with gas.
For smaller eateries and roadside dhabas, the shift is less about sustainability and more about survival.
A potential structural shift
The government has maintained that there is no nationwide LPG crisis and has directed refineries to increase production to stabilise supply.
Nevertheless, the developments of March 2026 may already be triggering a longer-term behavioural shift.
For decades, LPG has been the backbone of cooking in Indian households. However, recent disruptions have highlighted the risks of relying on a single fuel source.
Increasingly, households appear to be hedging against uncertainty by adopting electric cooking options to guard against price volatility and delivery delays.
If the current trend continues, the induction cooktop, once viewed as a niche appliance, could emerge as a quiet symbol of India’s evolving kitchen economy.
