Naseeruddin Shah reflects on ‘dark week for comedy’; bids farewell to Satish Shah, Piyush Pandey and Asrani

Satish Shah with Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Vaswani

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has penned a deeply moving tribute to his longtime friend and colleague Satish Shah. In his heartfelt column published in The Indian Express, Naseeruddin shah not just bids farewell to one man, but reflects on the end of an era in Indian comedy.

“The week gone by has been a sombre one for funny men and traumatic for their families,” Naseer begins in the column. He writes that “the grim reaper claimed three, Asrani, Piyush Pandey and Satish Shah, all in the space of a few days.”

For fans of Hindi cinema and Indian advertising alike, it was a rare and tragic coincidence as the week marked the loss of three creative minds who made laughter their legacy.

Naseeruddin Shah admits that he “never worked with Asrani sahab” and wasn’t personally fond of his brand of comedy, yet acknowledged his “lengthy, fruitful career as an audience favourite.” He remembers Piyush Pandey, whom he describes as “the advertising genius with his razor-sharp wit and the heartiest backwards laugh (‘AaaaH! AaaaH! AaaH!’) I’ve heard.” He says, it “was saddening because I’m certain he had a lot left to give.”

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But it is Satish Shah’s passing that hits closest to home. “Satish’s going, however, hit me hardest, not only because he had been a friend for over 50 years but also because he was the closest to my age and I hardly needed this grim reminder that, we, of that generation, are all on borrowed time now,” Naseer confesses.

He recalls first noticing Satish at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). “I was astounded by his skill at the game and his rotund but amazingly agile body.” From cricket nets to student films, Naseer paints a vivid portrait of a performer whose instincts were extraordinary. “His facial, vocal and bodily expressiveness was absolutely original and his joy at performing was infectious,” he writes.

In the heartfelt column, “D’Mello, tu to gaya!”, Naseeruddin Shah doesn’t just mourn a friend, but he memorialises a generation.

Naseeruddin Shah was recently seen in Gustaakh Ishq alongside Fatima Sana Shaikh and Vijay Varma. He is currently working on Maharagni - Queen of Queens that stare Kajol and Prabhudheva. He is also a part of an untitled Imtiaz Ali film that is currently filming and also stars Diljit Dosanjh. In the series Made in India: A Titan Story, Naseeruddin Shah plays JRD Tata. The filming for this has been completed and the series is expected to release in 2026.