Robert De Niro, Al Pacino inspired Anupam Kher to get into acting

Bollywood veteran Anupam Kher revealed he was hugely inspired by the Hollywood superstars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino and said that their influence motivated him to kickstart his acting career.

Mumbai: Sharing a throwback picture of the two veteran Hollywood actors - Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, actor Anupam Kher on Friday explained how big the influence was of these actors on him to spur his acting career.

Taking to Instagram, the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai actor revealed that the shared photographs of the Hollywood stars were sent in by a friend of Kher's and said: "These two pictures define 'Acting' in the last 45 years."

In the captions, the 65-year-old noted how the two actors, even today, continue to "inspire" many actors across the globe.

Kher, who had taken formal training in the National School of Drama to become an actor, gave credit to the two big names of Hollywood and mentioned them as the "reasons" for him to join the drama school.

Putting out the hashtag of Godfathers - movie that rose Robert De Niro and Al Pacino to fame in the cinema industry - Kher wrote: "They are the ones who inspired me to open my acting school @actorprepares."

"They both are International Treasure for the world of cinema. May God gives them a long and healthy life," he concluded.

The Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge actor shares a friendly bond with De Niro from the time the duo appeared together on the big screen with the movie Silver Linings Playbook in 2012.

Interestingly, Kher on his 65th birthday was seen celebrating the special day with De Niro in New York.

Dubbing the actor as 'God of acting', Kher had taken to Twitter on his birthday to share the insights from his celebrations with De Niro and shared a video.

With inputs from ANI.