Veteran Bollywood actor-writer-director Satish Kaushik passed away at 67 years of age, late on Wednesday, March 8. His friend and another legendary actor Anupam Kher shared the news in a tweet early Thursday. Born in Haryana, Kaushik was an alumnus of the National School of Drama (NSD) and Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and started his film career in the early 1980s.
Kaushik penned the dialogues for Kundan Shah’s 1983 comedy classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, which acquired a cult following over the years. He is known for his comic roles as 'Calendar' in Mr. India, 'Pappu Pager' in Deewana Mastana among many others. Kaushik also gave sterling performances in other films such as Ram Lakhan and Saajan Chale Sasural.
He directed Sridevi's films Roop Ki Rani, Choron Ka Raja and later Prem, both box-office disasters, but he got his big hit with Hum Aapke Dil Me Rehte Hain and also Tere Naam, among many others. Among his upcoming films is Kangana Ranaut's Emergency.
Many members of the film industry have paid tributes to the multifaceted artiste after learning about the news of his demise. His close friend Anupam Kher said on Thursday morning: “I know "death is the ultimate truth of this world!" But I never thought in my dreams that I would write this thing about my best friend #SatishKaushik while I am alive. Such a sudden full stop on a friendship of 45 years!! Life will NEVER be the same without you SATISH! Om Shanti!”
जानता हूँ “मृत्यु ही इस दुनिया का अंतिम सच है!” पर ये बात मैं जीते जी कभी अपने जिगरी दोस्त #SatishKaushik के बारे में लिखूँगा, ये मैंने सपने में भी नहीं सोचा था।45 साल की दोस्ती पर ऐसे अचानक पूर्णविराम !! Life will NEVER be the same without you SATISH ! ओम् शांति! pic.twitter.com/WC5Yutwvqc
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) March 8, 2023
Kaushik himself had been active on social media till March 7. He had attended a holi party hosted by Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi recently and had shared photographs from the event with actors Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal and others.