In the quicksand called Hindi film industry, there are performers who never got the top billing but could carve out a niche by creating a distinct identity of their own. In the array stands one honourable mention: Satish Kaushik, whose humble beginning saw a trajectory that took him to the heights of many of his peers.
Readers will recall a picture doing rounds in social media where he is seen getting down at the then Victoria Terminus of Mumbai station in search of a career in tinsel town. What remained constant from that moment till he breathed his last was the disarming smile on his face that seemed to be customised for humour. It stayed in his trails and travails of 68 years.
Alumnus of the acclaimed National School of Drama and the Film and Television Institute of India, Kaushik, born on 13 April 1956, could carry off roles on big and small screen with effortless and practiced ease. As someone who came from Haryana’s hinterland and graduating from Delhi’s Kirori Mal College in Delhi, Kaushik had already set his eyes on acting.
Those who remember him for his cameos as “Calendar” in Mr India and Pappu Pager in Deewana Mastana, would do well to remember his award-winning performances in Ram Lakhan and Saajan Chale Sasural, both blockbusters. Straddling celluloid with the more challenging theatre, he showed his histrionics as Willy Loman in the Hindi play Salesman Ramlal, an adaptation of Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’.
In a meandering career, one of his highlights was as dialogue writer of the superhit Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983). His tryst as a director and producer also took off in this period with Roop Ki Rani, Choron Ka Raja (1993) and Hum Aap ke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999). The first, as also Prem (1995 with Tabu), bombed at the box office.
He co-wrote and anchored a TV countdown show, Philips Top Ten, for which he won the Screen Videocon Award. Closely bonding with Shekhar Kapoor and Anupam Kher, Kaushik in association with the latter, launched a new film company called Karol Bagh Productions. Their first film, Tere Sang, was directed by Satish Kaushik. A film on the legendary historical figure of Tansen apparently never took off. Just as his dream to promote Haryana’s film industry was a non-starter.
While comedy was his forte, his versatility ensured he essayed serious and negative roles with similar panache. Jamai Raja (1990), Chal Mere Bhai (2000), Calcutta Mail (2003), Brick Lane (2007) and Udta Punjab (2016) being striking examples. Brick Lane was screened at the Telluride Film Festival in US and won two nominations at the BAFTA Awards for Best Actress and Best Director.
Shrugging off failures, he would bounce back, that trade mark smile never leaving his face, for, the stalwart was groomed in the august company of Shekhar Kapoor courtesy Masoom (1983). His earlier failures were compensated with Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai (2001) and Badhai Ho Badhai (2002). Thereafter, the hit parade continued through the spate of some off beat films towards the end. One common chord that ran through his career was his ability to handle anything behind or in front of the camera. From acting to direction and production, his ken was beyond question. If he did not meet commercial success at times, it was no commentary on his merits.
His career in the showbiz a mixed bag, Kaushik’s personal life moved along parallel lines. Married in 1985, he lost his son aged two. Sixteen years later, he had a daughter through surrogacy. As the son of soil, he dreamt of Chandigarh Film City which ran into rough weather and never saw the light of the day. Kaushik died of a heart attack in Gurugram on 9 March 2023 at 66. Only a day before he was seen enjoying Holi revelries with Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi. His death ends an eventful chapter in Hindi cinema, TV and theatre.
Raju Korti is a senior journalist with over four-decade experience of working in media institutions.