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Veteran film and TV actor Satish Shah passed away today in Hinduja Hospital at the age of 74 after battling kidney-related ailments. According to his manager, Shah’s body remains are currently at the hospital and the funeral will take place on Sunday. Many of his peers from Bollywood have taken to social media, mourning his loss. Over a career of more than forty years, Shah and Shekhar Suman collaborated on multiple projects and shared a rather deep bond. Now, speaking exclusively to News18 Showsha, he recalls his equation with Shah and shares his grief about losing a friend and collaborator. Remembering A Cherished Bond “It’s very, very sad,” Suman began. “We did a lot of movies together. We did TV serials and co-judged Comedy Circus. I worked with him in a film called Tere Bina Kya Jeena, where he was one of the protagonists. It was a very good role where my character hires him as a contract killer to kill myself and then backs out. His character just pops out of an asylum and he’s hell-bent on killing me as I try to run away. We spent a lot of time together—about 40 days—during that film.” The two also worked together on Jaan Pehchaan, another project filled with laughter and camaraderie. “It also had Utpal (Dutt) da, and all of us had a great time during the shoot. Satish also had a substantial part in Dekh Bhai Dekh. He was a great guy to work with—such a whole lot of fun, both off-screen and on-screen,” Suman recalled. “It’s very sad that in these five days, we lost Madhumati, Pankaj Dheer, Asrani saab, Piyush Pandey and now him. It’s very, very shocking.” A Strange Final Connection In a poignant recollection, Suman shared a series of mysterious calls from Shah shortly before his passing. “It’s very eerie that the whole of last month and the month before that, Satish kept calling me and disconnecting the call. And each time, he sent me a message that read, ‘Sorry, dialled by mistake.’ I told him, ‘I hope you make these mistakes more often, Satish.’ And he kept telling me that he will call me back,” he said. He added, “His wife and my wife are friends. I came to know that he wasn’t keeping well for a long time. I tried to speak to him but a couple of times, his phone was switched off. And the times he called me, he used to disconnect the call. I see this as a strange sort of a connection. Why was he calling me, then disconnecting and texting me? So, that was the last time that I connected with him in a way.” The actor remembered the last time he met Shah — about a year ago at a party. “He had become pale. He was looking frail and he had grey hair. He had changed a lot. I remember asking him if he’s doing well and he told me that he is but is taking it easy. He had shifted somewhere in BKC and was staying there. I used to see his pictures here and there, sporadically. I don’t think he was active in films or television lately. I think he had taken a hiatus.” “It Feels Like Losing A Family Member” For Suman, Shah’s death is not just a professional loss but a deeply personal one. “It’s a personal loss when you lose anybody from the film industry. You’ve worked, met or been close to practically everyone. Whenever they go away, I feel sad. There’s a lot of warmth, camaraderie, friendship and bonding, and they all become like family. It feels like losing a family member. I don’t know about others but I feel depressed for a very long period of time,” he said. Looking back on Shah’s illustrious career, Suman reflected on his iconic performances and lasting legacy. “I’m thinking of Satish starting his career with Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi and then doing Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. I’m thinking of all the brilliant roles he did, the times that we spent together and dropped at each other’s places, and now, suddenly, he’s gone! He’s gone forever and I’ll never meet him. Maybe, I’ll meet him in a different world. It’s deeply saddening and heartbreaking. It’s almost like a personal tragedy.”
