Satish Kaushik: Young filmmakers have faith in their actors

Actor Satish Kaushik has worked across films and web shows helmed by various new-age filmmakers, including Abhishek Chaubey’s Udta Punjab (2016), Shaad Ali’s Soorma (2018) and Bloody Brothers, Raj & DK’s Guns And Gulaab, Raj Singh’s Thar, Shefali Bhushan’s Gulity Minds, Hitesh Bhatia’s Sharmajee Namkeen and Tejas Deoskar’s Chhatriwali. He enjoys working with the younger makers for many reasons. “What I like about them is that they know the importance of time and have faith in their actors. They offer you a complete script before the shoot begins and conduct workshops and readings with actors before the film goes on floors. All this ensures that they don’t waste time during the shoot in explaining what they want,” says Kaushik, who has also directed over 15 Hindi films.

Kaushik goes on to highlight the key difference between the younger makers and senior ones: “I have worked at a time when films were shot leisurely in 18 months. But nowadays, filmmaking is pacier and more systematic. I love this new way of working. Filmmakers today have a strong team of DOPs and assistant directors, and their duties are divided perfectly.”

He adds that gender parity is also a highlight, as far as the film industry of today is concerned. “There’s inclusion of women across all the departments. From DOPs to production assistants — you see strong-minded girls who believe in giving their best to the film and working passionately. This inclusivity is great to see,” says Kaushik.

Being a senior filmmaker himself, does it ever become difficult when a younger maker asks him to do something? “Not at all,” says the 65-year-old, adding, “In fact, when they ask me to do something new, it’s like a learning process for me. At the time of shoot, the director is the captain, no matter what his age is.”