Bhumika Chawla on Satish Kaushik: He had child-like enthusiasm and never threw a know-it-all attitude

The industry woke up to the shocking news of Satish Kaushik’s demise on Thursday. The veteran actor-director was in Delhi to celebrate Holi when he died of cardiac arrest on March 9. He was 66. Featuring among the many from the film industry who expressed grief on his demise is Bhumika Chawla. The actress shared a special bond with Kaushik as he was the director of ‘Tere Naam’ (2003), her debut film in Bollywood. She says, “The first film and those associated with it are always special. I began my career in Bollywood with ‘Tere Naam’ - it was a big project, as the film was directed by Satishji and I was paired opposite Salman Khan. Though I was confident because of my past work in the South, I would still get nervous sometimes. I remember shooting for a scene that required me to deliver a dialogue in a temple, but I kept forgetting the lines. Everybody was getting stressed as it was getting dark, and we had to complete the scene. Satishji tried to help me by giving me cues and prompting me. At that moment, I realised that the actor in him understood what I was going through. That was very sweet of him.”
The actress and the director lost touch after the release of the film and reconnected several years later. The two were planning to reunite professionally with an intense film. Bhumika recalls, “I connected better with him many years after ‘Tere Naam’. We met often with our children, his daughter Vanshika (10) and my son Yash (9). He called me to watch his film ‘Kaagaz’ and I was floored. That’s when he narrated a script chronicling the journey of a woman, who comes from a village and goes into becoming someone different.”
Bhumika remembers her mentor as a jovial and grounded person. She says, “Despite such an enviable line-up of work spanning decades and the kind of people he has worked with, he was grounded. He had the most amazing smile on his face. Even after having worked for decades, he would still be excited about new things and wanted to push the envelope. He was childlike and never threw a been-there-done-that attitude.”
The actress is yet to come to terms with the loss. She says, “I received a message from someone informing me about his untimely demise. I didn’t know how to react to it. It took me back to the time when he told me to meet up around a month ago, but we couldn’t as I was caught up with my son’s exams. I’ve come to realise that time truly never waits for anyone. I am in shock!”
Calling Kaushik’s demise unfortunate, Bhumika adds, “I feel strongly for his wife and daughter. I am praying to God to give them the strength to deal with the irreparable loss.”