Satish Kaushik talks about Kundan Shah, recalling the time when they worked together for Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. By Team Viva
Satish Kaushik was one of the pillars of the production for the film, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. From the dialogues to the rerelease of the film, he and Kundan Shah had a long association. The demise of the legendary director has left the entire cine-goers devastated, Kaushik too finds it hard to recover from it.
For Kaushik, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro is an iconic brand in itself and is counted among the cult classics. “What makes Jaane... stand out is that when you talk about cult classics like Mughal-E-Azam, they were made on huge budgets. Whenever we talk about Hindi cinema, this film will always be talked about even though it was a small budget film — a total of Rs 7 lakh which was received from National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC).” He gives the credit to the director, Shah. “He did a marvelous work with the portrayal of the script with such talented actors. Shah has indeed left behind a legacy.”
While the movie has been the topic of many discussions and a book has also been written on it, very few people realise the kind of bond the two shared. “Me and Ranjit Kapoor would always be working on the script at Shah’s house in Sion, Mumbai where he lived with his lovely wife and children. There were times when we would end up sleeping at his place after a long day’s work. And I can clearly remember his children running around the house, waking us up to have food and telling us to write.
“The first day of shooting was on top of a building with 25 floors. Most of the crew and Shah were hanging on a lift which was not even strong and it was really dangerous. Sometimes, we even shot for 72 hours straight especially the scene of the interview.”
Talking about Kundan’s directorial venture, Kaushik shares, “He had a specific way of shooting the film. He had an unstoppable energy in him — he won’t sleep at all for day, nor would he let us sleep. His wife was always supportive of him, she would for the whole cast and crew sometimes as it was a small budget film.
“However, what was encouraging for us was that commercial distributors took up our movie. Even in Delhi, it was screened in the morning. However, it is with the passage of years, that the film has received a cult status. This is what really proves, what a great movie it is, that with the passage of years, it is growing bigger. Just like a diamond which shines brighter after years of polishing, this film found its rightful place.”
While film lovers mourn his death, Kaushik being a part of Shah’s legacy is heartbroken by the loss. “He will always be remembered in the Indian cinema for making such a socially viable film that makes sense till this today on a limited budget. Being a part of the film, we really feel proud of it.”
On a personal note, Kaushik says, “For me it is an iconic example in terms of acting — from Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Bhakti Barve to Om Puri sahab. I am proud to be associated with the film. For me, I did two iconic films — Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and Mr India.”
However, the two were never able to work on another film together. “We moved on to different ventures, I moved on to the mainstream Bollywood cinema, but we still met as friends. It was when he decided to make the sequel of the film, that we started to meet quite often. later, we met again for the re-release of the film. But his demise is infact a great loss. He was very simple person and worked without fear.”