New Delhi: Late Bollywood actor Satish Kaushik passed away in March this year leaving the industry, his fans in disbelief. The actor was one of the veterans who ruled the hearts of millions for years with his acting as well as direction. The veteran actor, who passed away at the age of 66 was known for his film performances and remarkable direction. He was born on 13 April 1956 in Mahendragarh, Haryana. He studied acting at Delhi’s famous National School Of Drama and had often shared many fun anecdotes of his old days at the institution with Anupam Kher.
Here are some of the lesser-known facts about Satish Kaushik:
1. His first film as a director was Sridevi’s ‘Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja’ in 1993. His second was ‘Prem’ in 95, which was supposed to be Tabu’s inaugural film, both films were box office disasters.
2. Apart from Bollywood, he was a part of the Chandigarh Film City Project in alliance with Parsavnath Developers, a real estate company. PD had to leave the venture when it was exposed by the media for their foul play caught red-handed in the project. However, the actor got a clean chit in the case.
3. The actor was married to Shashi Kaushik and had a son, Shanu Kaushik, who died in 1996 when he was just two years old. Later, in 2012, the couple welcomed a daughter Vanshika through a surrogate mother.
4. 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.
5. Satish Kaushik did theatre for several years before trying his luck on the silver screen. His most memorable play till date remains ‘Salesman Ramlal.’
6. Apart from acting in the film, Satish Kaushal also penned dialogues of the classic comedy cult Bollywood movie ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaroon.’
7. During the filming of ‘Tere Naam’ things got a bit awkward between Satish Kaushik and Salman Khan. It is alleged that Satish got slapped by Salman Khan.
8. Satish Kaushik offered to marry Neena Gupta when she was pregnant with Masaba Gupta as he didn’t want his friend to be alone. This gesture moved the actress to tears, and while the duo didn’t get married, their years of friendship became even stronger.
9. Satish Kaushik did not hire Aamir Khan as an Assistant Director because he had come for the interview in a car and he didn’t want to appoint a junior who owned a car, while Kaushik himself didn’t have one.
10. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, while paying his last tributes to Satish, shared in his Instagram post that the latter wanted to make a movie called ‘Ek Director Ki Maut’ with him.
Satish Kaushik was famous for his roles as ‘Calendar’ in Anil Kapoor’s Mr. India, and ‘Pappu Pager’ in Deewana Mastana. His comic timing was highly appreciated by fans. He even won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award twice: in 1990 for Ram Lakhan and in 1997 for Saajan Chale Sasural. Salman Khan’s blockbuster ‘Tere Naam’, and Arjun Rampal-starrer ‘Vaada’, were among the films Satish directed.
The ace actor-director died after suffering a heart attack on March 9th, 2023. In his 30 years of career, he has worked in more than 100 movies in different capacities as an actor, assistant director, producer and even in different areas of the TV industry.
