Actor-director Satish Kaushik's untimely demise has left the film industry in shock. Born on 13 April 1956, in Haryana's Mahendragarh, Kaushik moved to Bombay in 1979 with only Rs 800 in his pocket, and even worked as a cashier for a year in a textile mill, on a salary of Rs. 400 a month.
It was in 1983 that he made his Bollywood debut with Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, and since then he made everyone laugh with his impeccable comedy timings. His roles as Calendar in Mr. India and Pappu Pager in Deewana Mastana will be remembered forever.
While his contributions to the film industry have been immense, here are some lesser-known facts about the veteran actor:
Proposal to Neena Gupta
Actor Neena Gupta and Satish Kaushik had been friends since their college days in Delhi University and when the former was pregnant with her daughter Masaba, Satish Kaushik offered to marry her as he didn't want his friend to be alone. This gesture moved Neena Gupta to tears, and while the duo didn't get married, their years of friendship became even stronger.
A Hilarious Slip of Tongue and His Life-Long Friendship With Shekhar Kapoor
When Satish Kaushik was starting out his career, he wanted to assist Shekhar Kapur and would often try to set up meetings with him. Finally after many failed attempts, Kaushik managed to track down Shekhar who had gone to drop a friend at the airport.
Kaushik then expressed his desire to work as an assistant director under Kapur. However, he didn't get the part, but instead of saying he will miss working with Kapur, he said, "You'll miss working with me".
This goof-up amused Shekhar and that's how Satish Kaushik ended up assisting the former in his film Masoom, and late forged a life-long friendship.
Hand wrote the script of Masoom
In an interview, Satish Kaushik recalled how while he was assisting Shekhar Kapoor, he wrote the entire script of Masoom by his hand while Gulzar dictated it. He said, "In those days, scripts weren't typed out, and I had a good handwriting, too. And because of writing it by hand, the script was imprinted in my brain."
He added that "Even now as a director, and an actor, I still write my scripts by hand. It helps me remember them."
First Play in Bombay
Kaushik moved to Bombay on 9 August 1979, hoping to make his way into the industry. By a stroke of luck, on 16 August, he managed to bag a role in a play with Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri called Bichhoo, as the original actor had to leave for an emergency. The play was staged at the prestigious Prithvi theatre.
Why He Became Depressed After Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja's Release
After giving impressive performances as an actor and assisting directors in a few movies, Satish Kaushik decided to venture in direction himself. However, his directorial debut Roop Ki Rani Choron ka Raja, starring Sridevi, Anil Kapoor in lead roles and produced by Boney Kapoor, miserably failed at the Boxoffice.
Upset with the failure, he even considered jumping off from his hotel balcony in Hyderabad after his film's premiere. He recalled in his interview that, "I had called my wife Shashi, and told her that I'm jumping off." But as luck would have it that his room was on the first floor and there was a buffet set-up under his balcony, and he thought that jumping off from the balcony would only cause him to fall on the food!
So, he decided against it and reminded himself of how far he's come in his journey without having prior connections in the industry. This was a turning point in his life, and he decided to continue making more films and went on to give major hits like Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain and Tere Naam.
When Kaushik Asked Shekhar Kapur to Yell at Him
After completing 41 years in the industry, Kaushik shared a throwback post shared of his first day in Bombay. Shekhar Kapur commented and recalled how the latter, while assisting him in Masoom, asked Kapur to shout at him. Perplexed Kapur asked why, to which Kaushik said, "Because as an assistant, how else would people notice me?’
Why He Rejected Aamir Khan as Kapur's Assistant Director For 'Mr India'
In another incident where Satish Kaushik, along with playing Calendar in Shekhar Kapur's Mr. India was also working as chief assistant of the director, Kaushik rejected Aamir Khan's application for Kapur's Assistant Director.
While Aamir believed that he was well-suited for the position, the actor failed to secure the job. The reason was later revealed by Kaushik - that Aamir had come for the interview in a car and he didn't want to hire a junior who owned a car, while Kaushik himself didn't have one.
An Unfinished Film
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, while paying his last tributes to Satish Kaushik, shared in his Instagram post that the latter wanted to make a movie called Ek Director Ki Maut with him.
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