In a movie like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Kundan Shah’s madcap satire with its huge cast of talented actors — including the redoubtable Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur and Om Puri — it was no easy task to stand out. But Satish Kaushik, who died Wednesday at the age of 66, managed to do just that as Ashok Namboodirippad, thanks to his impeccable comic timing and total commitment to the ludicrousness of the proceedings. One wonders, for example, how successful the phone call scene between Ashok and Vinod Chopra, one of the film’s two “heroes”, would have been without Kaushik playing the incompetent villainous sidekick to near perfection.
The man who cut his teeth in acting with the capital’s Kirori Mal College’s renowned theatre group, The Players, and the National School of Drama, was always more than an actor. Kaushik had, after all, begun his film career as an assistant director to Shekhar Kapur on Masoom and had written the dialogues for Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Even as he continued acting, Kaushik started directing films — the 2003 blockbuster Tere Naam among them — and producing.
Kaushik will, however, be best remembered for his comedic roles. That he had more to offer as an actor started to become evident much later — in Brick Lane (2007), for example. Unfortunately for Kaushik and his audiences, his peak years in comedy roles — Calendar in Mr India, Pappu Pager in Deewana Mastana, Panipuri Sharma in Andaz and German in Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain — coincided with Hindi cinema’s decade-long lapse into triteness and formula. That Kaushik managed to shine despite the material he was given, is a testament to his talent and the warmth and spontaneity with which he made even bit roles memorable.
