Acquainting you with Satish again

Watched director Kaushik's Kaagaz. Felt like a brief sketch of Bollywood's cutest actor-filmmaker

Later on, even I would step out straight from the bathroom, to 'sahab, ab ghar par nahin hain (sir's not home)," says actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik, 64, of the time in the early '80s in Bombay, when he'd been chasing down director Shekhar Kapur. The attendant on the phone only had multiple excuses to ward off such phone calls.

Having heard once from a spot-boy that Kapur had gone to the airport to drop off someone, he went there straight, to introduce himself, asking for a job of an assistant director (AD). There was a position available, but going to be filled by one Rajkumar Santoshi, he was told later.

To which, instead of regretting that he'd miss working with Kapur, he said: You will miss working with me! "There was a slip in my English," Kaushik laughs. Kapur was evidently intrigued/impressed.

This is how he landed up as an assistant on the milestone movie, Masoom (1982). He got to co-write memorable dialogues for Kundan Shah's landmark film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) next. Also act in it (as Ashok), of course.

Fine foot in the door for a lower-middle-class boy from Delhi's Karol Bagh, who had trained in acting from NSD, and briefly at FTII. Being "pragmatic" about his career prospects still, Kaushik had worked for a year as an office boy at a textile mill, having moved to Bombay - "to become friends with the city first."

Kaushik's father had managed to recommend him to the mill owner, Banarsi Lal Arora (whose family currently owns the home furnishing chain D'Décor). Decades later he came across one of his malik/owner's Juhu properties that he could afford to buy from his filmmaking salary.

Kaushik's father used to sell the popular Harrison taale/clocks for a living, and look after a family of eight - groaning under the heavy middle-class weight. Kaushik has played this role to near perfection on stage as Salesman Ramlal, based on Arthur Miller's melancholic Death of a Salesman.

But how does the janta know Kaushik best? As Pappu Pager, Jumbo, German, Airport, Paani Puri Sharma… These are atrangi/colourful names he'd pick up from people's 'takia kalams' (oft repeated refrains) to give to the cuddly comedian he'd show up on screen as, all through the '90s - matching wits, in particular with Govinda, who considers Kaushik more spontaneous than him. Which is tall praise.

The name inspired by another family friend's takia kalam that remains associated with Kaushik still is Calendar from Mr India (1987). This is a part he used "Chanakya buddhi" to carve out for himself, working on the sci-fi script with writer Javed Akhtar.

By the late '80s, Kaushik had proved himself as an efficient polymath plus dependable hand on set. But he didn't want to AD on Mr India. He'd rather direct his own film. Producer Boney Kapoor and writer Akhtar came over to meet, narrate the script and cajole him into signing up. This must be a first for an AD (although associate director, in this case).

What's more fascinating though is Kaushik's directorial debut, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (RKRCKR) in 1993, produced by Boney Kapoor - positioned and mounted as the most expensive movie in the history of Indian cinema! The mahurat/ceremonial shot of RKRCKR coincided with the party for Mr India's silver jubilee (25th week) run in theatres.

Kaushik remembers, "There were Anil Kapoor and Sridevi on stage, and I glided on the trolley for the shot - waving at the crowd, being launched as the director." That's a first, for someone's first (film), for sure!

RKRCKR had a nine-city premiere with cast/crew. By the last screening, Kaushik knew the film had bombed. He considered jumping off his first-floor hotel room in Hyderabad, but decided against it, knowing that he would land on a pile-up of vegetables on the ground!

RKRCKR was an exercise in how nothing exceeds like excess. During the edit, Akhtar advised him to show up on the screen as himself/director, to explain to the audience that everything he's ever loved about movies, he's put into one.

Kaushik of course continued to direct Bollywood films - Kareena Kapoor's first hit, Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai (2001), for instance. Or Salman Khan as Radhe (centre-parting of hair was Salman's idea), in the blockbuster Tere Naam (2003). His most recent film as a director, Kaagaz - an arthouse entertainer with Pankaj Tripathi - I watched last night. We saw him play Bombay Stock Exchange's Black Cobra in Scam 1992, in October, 2020.

Still curious, how did he meet producer Boney Kapoor? Because he agreed to do a walk-on part as a flower-seller in Boney's production Woh Saat Din (1983). For the most part, as an actor, he's never said no to work. He just works. How does he look back at four decades, I ask Kaushik.

Here's the thing about Bombay, he tells me: "If you're a jovial guy, and good company, people will have you over for drinks, they'll feed you [and then you take it from there]." Couldn't agree more.

Mayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture. He tweets @mayankw14. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper

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