“I guess God needs good people as much as we do,” Pahlaj Nihalani on Satish Kaushik’s sudden departure – Times of India

“First Raju Srivastava then Satish Kaushik… why are we losing people who bring happiness into our lives so prematurely? I guess God needs good people as much as we do,” wonders producer and former chairperson of the Central Board Of Film Certification, Pahlaj Nihalani.
Satish’s going, says Pahlaj, is a big blow to the industry. “As a professional he was a champion. Itni filmein karta tha! In fact I was trying to get him for a new project. But he didn’t have dates for me. I was able to work with him in only one film Andaz in 1994 where he shared screen space with his best friend Anil Kapoor. Satish played a character named Panipuri Sharma. He brought the house down. No matter what the length of his role, he always added a tadka, something extra. Of late he was doing negative roles and was as good at playing the bad guy as the good.”

Pahlaj met Satish socially quite often. “We had the same group of friends. The last time I met Satish was at producer Ramesh Taurani’s daughter’s marriage. It was the first time I attended a celebration in almost two years as I’ve been very unwell. Satish was exactly the same as he used to be. Jovial, friendly and warm. He was always smiling, always making people laugh. I suppose he’s now doing the same up there. Just two days before his death we greeted each other for Holi.”