New Delhi: Veteran actor and filmmaker Satish Kaushik has left a void in the entertainment industry with his sudden demise on Thursday, March 9, 2023. He was 66-years-old when he breathed his last after suffering from a heart attack at a friend's farmhouse in Gurgaon.
Satish Kaushik's close friend and veteran actor Anupam Kher, who also broke the news of his sad demise on social media, is taken aback by the shocking news. The actor is finding it difficult to believe that his dear friend, who visited him a day before for his birthday celebration, is no longer with him.
Speaking to the media as he visited Satish Kaushik's Mumbai residence for meeting his family, an emotional Anupam Kher said, "To even talk about it (Satish Kaushik's dear) is a weird feeling. Last night, around 2.00 am, my house help answered a call, I was asleep, and he told me that Satish ji chale gaye hai, I thought he has come home, so I asked him to make him sit as I come to see him, I was wondering why he's come home at 2 in the night, but my house help said ‘Satish ji is gone’. The day before yesterday he had visited my house for dinner, on my birthday. Bada mushkil hai aisa dost milna, aisa insaan milna. We are all shocked, I don't know how many years it will take us to come to terms with the fact that he is not among us anymore."
Anupam Kher recalled meeting the late actor and director for the first time and said, "I had met him for the very first time in July 1975, when he was sitting on a bench of the drama school classroom, we were together till the day before yesterday. Last night I even spoke to him at around 8.00 pm, he told me that he'll meet me when he returns (to Mumbai). What do I say, a friend at times is closer than a close relative, there are times when you hide certain things from your brothers, and family, but you open up freely in front of your friends about your successes and failures, about your heart breaks, he was one of my biggest support systems, and today I've lost him forever."
He further continued, "My interviews can go on for over twenty-five days if I talk about Satish ji. Satish, Anil and I have been friends for over forty years. Anil Kapoor sahab is abroad and unka bohot hi devastating sa call aayaa mujhe. When two out of the three of us were together, we would do ‘buraai’(bitch) about the one who is absent, when Anil ji and I were together we would bitch about Satish ji, when Satish ji and Anil were together, they would bitch about me. This buraai (bitching) was very positive. My mother had invited him for my birthday, so he came in for dinner. We used to compete who would call first every day..."
A dismayed Anupam Kher, who is finding it difficult to come to terms with the loss of his dear friend, also talked Satish Kaushik's qualities as a father and said, "He was a great father, Vanshika is a small child so I would request the media to give them the privacy and dignity that he deserves."
"No one can fill his space, as an actor and as a human being. I have not come across an artiste, a professional like him. Maine apne life mein waisa hashmukh insaan nahi dekha hai. Baat baat pe woh apni failures pe haste the, zindagi ki tragedy ko mazaak mein lete the. We have lost a beautiful person today, a fabulous artiste, producer and director. Aur maine apne jeevan ka ek ang khoya hai."
Informing about Satish Kaushik's last rites, Anupam Kher said, "He was in Delhi, unka postmortem hoga, we are trying to bring his mortal remains here in an air ambulance. We all, along with Sashi ji, his daughter Vanshika, his elder brother, will carry out his last rites today itself if we manage to bring his mortal remains before sunset today.
We all came from middle class families and humne sabne apne balboote par apna naam kamaya, bohot mehnat kar kar. He recently completed 'Kaagaz 2', he was thinking of doing another film soon. He was also trying to get back to theatre, so we were planning to do a two-people's play too."
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