Satish Shah passes away: Actor was paid Rs 50–100 in installments for Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, had to buy tickets for its premiere: ‘We found it unfunny while shooting’

Satish Shah was paid Rs 50 – Rs 100 in installments for Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro

Speaking on Komal Nahta’s celebrity chat show Aur Ek Kahani, Satish shared an interesting tidbit about Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and revealed how the entire film was made on a shoestring budget of just Rs 8 lakh. He said, “Those days the budget of a film would be very less. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron’s budget was about 8 lakhs, so you can imagine how much I must be paid. I used to get cheques with amounts like Rs 50. and Rs. 100 rupees. I used to get it in installments.”

Satish credited divine intervention for the film’s eventual success, saying it was destiny that Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro found its audience and became a cult classic. He said, “God was on our side for that movie turned out good. The things that we have done. The things that have happened during the making of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, one can write a book on it.”

Satish Shah and co-stars didn’t find Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron funny

In another interaction with Bollywood Hungama, Satish recalled how he and his co-stars — Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Satish Kaushik, Bhakti Barve, and Neena Gupta — didn’t find the film funny while shooting it, only to realise its brilliance later. “We found it so unfunny while filming it. Kisi ko hasi nahi aarahi thi (No one was laughing). We were like what are we even doing? Only Kundan found it hilarious and fun and we just went with his conviction,” he said.

Since the film was made on a very tight budget, the filmmaker even asked the actors to buy tickets for its premiere. “The film was made with a budget of Rs 8 lakh. While it had its own fate, I remember how Kundan made each one of us buy tickets for the premiere,” he shared.

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro proved to be a turning point in Satish Shah’s early career. Freshly graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), he went on to gain widespread recognition for his comic timing and versatility. Following the success of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Satish became a household name with his role in the popular Doordarshan show Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (1984), cementing his place as one of India’s most beloved comic actors.