Actor Neena Gupta paid a moving tribute to old friend Satish Kaushik who died early on Thursday following a heart attack. The actor and director was 66.
"I woke up today to some devastating news. There's only one person in the world who would call me 'Nancy', and I would call him 'Kaushikan'," Gupta said in a video shared on Instagram. She captioned it "Goodbye Kaushikan."
"Our friendship goes years back ever since we were in college in Delhi. We had been in touch even if we couldn't meet as often. But he is no more. It's very scary. It's very sad. It's a very difficult time for his daughter Vanshika and wife Shashi. I am here to support them in any way they need. I pray that they have the strength to go through this," Neena Gupta said.
In her autobiography Sach Kahun Toh, Neena Gupta had revealed that when she became pregnant with cricketer Viv Richards’s baby, Satish Kaushik offered to marry her and suggested to her that she pass the child off as his. "Don’t worry, if the child is born with dark skin, you can just say it’s mine and we’ll get married. Nobody will suspect a thing," he appeared to have told Neena Gupta.
Satish Kaushik with Neena Gupta and Pankaj Kapoor in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983)In fond remembrance…#memories #tribute pic.twitter.com/67cSM6dTS7
— Art House Cinema (@ArtCinemaIndia) March 9, 2023
Later, in an interview with Bombay Times, Satish Kaushik talked about the situation, and said that Neena Gupta and he had been friends since 1975, and that only a few people knew about her pregnancy and he offered to help because he didn’t want her to be alone.
Actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik, known for his memorable comic roles in films such as Jaane Bhi do Yaaro, and Mr India, was at a friend's home in Delhi when he complained of uneasiness, friend and colleague Anupam Kher told news agency PTI.
"He felt uneasy and he told his driver to take him to the hospital and on the way he suffered a heart attack around 1 am," Kher said.
In a tweet earlier, Kher said he was shocked to hear about Kaushik's sudden death.
"I know that death is the ultimate truth but never in my dreams I thought that I would have to write this about my best friend Satish Kaushik. A sudden full stop to 45 years of friendship. Life will never be the same without you Satish! Om Shanti," Kher tweeted.
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
An alumnus of the National School of Drama and the Film and Television Institute of India, Kaushik was a multi-faceted personality who co-wrote the dialogues for Kundan Shah's Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro with Ranjit Kapoor. He also played the role of Ashok, the assistant to Pankaj Kapur's corrupt contractor Tarneja in 1983 cult classic.
Another memorable role of Kaushik is of the lovable Calendar in Shekhar Kapoor's sci-fi drama Mr India, the cook at the orphanage run by Anil Kapoor's character in the film.
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