Satish Kaushik, actor-filmmaker who became a household name for his comic role as “Calendar” the cook in the 1987 blockbuster “Mr India”, breathed his last following a fatal cardiac arrest on Thursday. He was 67.

A day after enjoying the festival of colours at a party hosted by lyricist Javed Akhtar in Mumbai on Tuesday, Kaushik was at a friend’s house in Delhi for the Holi celebrations when on Wednesday night he felt unease and breathlessness.

He asked his driver to take him to a Gurugram hospital where he was declared brought dead. His friend and veteran actor Anupam Kher shared the sad news in a tweet early on Thursday.

Highly esteemed in Bollywood for his talents and dedication to the craft of acting and filmmaking, the Pappu Pager’s (Deewana Mastana) humour and compassion earned him many friends in Bollywood.

The impeccable comic timing of Kashiram of “Ram Lakhan” and Mutthu Swamy of “Saajan Chale Sasural” won Kaushik Filmfare Best Comedian Award in 1990 and 1997 respectively.

Born on April 13, 1956, in Haryana, Kaushik — who started his acting career as a theater artist earning kudos for his role as Ramlal in Feroz Khan’s adaptation of Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman”— was a master of reinventing himself, adapting to changing times seamlessly with his chronological varied roles as actor, director, scriptwriter and producer. He had acted in more than 100 films.

Kaushik tried his hand at film direction for the first time with “Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja” which proved a box office disaster.

However, the financial fiasco didn’t stop him from making box office hits like “Hum Aapke Dil Me Rehte Hain” and “Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai”.

An actor who would make fun of his own failures and life tragedies in Bollywood, Kaushik lost his son at age two. He is survived by his wife Shashi and daughter Vanshika.