At 58, Satish Kaushik is a content man. He had dreamt of becoming popular and he has achieved that in style, he tells Deebashree Mohanty
It’s no fun to crack jokes on others. The real challenge lies in making jokes on oneself and making people laugh at that. I have done that my entire life and I believe I have come out a winner,” Satish Kaushik says. The actor-cum-director-cum-producer-cum-social activist is on a high these days but that has little to do with the film industry.
“I have just given my NOC for the sequel of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. Since I had penned the dialogues of the original blockbuster, this formality was required. I am happy that someone thought of making a sequel of this fun film. Apart from that, I will be directing a movie based on a social issue soon. As for acting, I don’t think there are good roles left for me. I am too old to do stand-up comedies like I used to in the past. If a film like lakshmi is offered, then I may consider,” Kaushik, who got critical acclaim for his negative portrayal in lakshmi, tells you.
According to the veteran, although this is the golden phase of the film industry, comediennes still don’t get the respect they deserve. “It’s a vicious circle. On the one hand, we have a dearth of good comediennes, on the other, the industry doesn’t show them any respect. It’s disgusting to see what has become of such people. People stoop to any level to become popular. Comedy content is distasteful and obscene. Apart from Kapil Sharma, there are very few who can genuinely make you laugh. I wish we could bring back some of our old timers like Johnny lever,” he says.
Kaushik, a big fan of Govinda and Anil Kapoor, says he has no problems with sequels of popular films. “Good films should be remade but the director should pick the cast cleverly. At the end of the day, the movie is about performances and not popular faces,” he asserts, adding that he had considered making the sequel himself but didn’t have the courage to do JBDY2.
“Woh din kuch aur thhe, aur woh mahaul kuch aur. Those days, people enjoyed a good laugh at simple things. Now, it is difficult even to make people smile. There is a lot of seene mein jalan and dil mein toofan in today’s youth,” he says. His favourite JBDY momentIJ “It was a low budget film (started with `7 lakh but increased to `11 lakh) so during the premier at Maratha Mandir, director Kundan Shah made the entire cast pay for its tickets. It was a shocker. Today, it seems funny,” he says.
Kaushik has adopted his ancestral village in Haryana and has inaugurated a football stadium there. “People in Dhanaunda are very fond of football and keep hosting matches. I was surprised to see a Nigerian team visiting the village for a friendly. I was moved with their passion for the game and took it upon myself to get approvals for a stadium. I told them if a man like me from a bylane in Karol Bagh could dream big and realise the dream, why should you not allow yourself to do the same”.