EXCLUSIVE: Anupam Kher opens up about his first meeting with late Satish Kaushik; says, “I shared a closer bond with him than my own family”

Anupam Kher, who will be seen as the late Satish Kaushik’s co-star in Kaagaz 2, shared 48 years of friendship with the veteran actor.

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

February 28, 2024 - 8:29 PM IST

One of the most cherished friendships in Bollywood is the almost five-decade old bond that Anupam Kher shared with co-star Satish Kaushik. After collaborating on multitude of projects, the duo is all set to return to the big screen with Kaagaz 2. Unfortunately, this marks as one of Kaushik’s posthumous releases since the actor passed away in March last year. Considering their bond and the closeness that Kher shared with the Mr. India actor, he reminisced about their camaraderie in a candid interview with Bollywood Hungama, where he also spoke on his first meeting with Kaushik.

EXCLUSIVE: Anupam Kher opens up about his first meeting with late Satish Kaushik; says, “I shared a closer bond with him than my own family”

Tracing the 48-year-old bond that Anupam Kher shared with Satish Kaushik, the former revealed that he was closer to the actor-filmmaker more than his own parents. “It is a 48-year-old friendship. Parents se bhi zyada waqt ghusara hai unke saath. 19 saal ke umra mein toh ghar chod diya tha maine aur saal mein do-teen baar milna hota tha. But 48 years ka toh yeh rishta tha (I have spent more time with him than with my own parents. I left the house when I was only 19 and then I hardly met my parents once or twice a year. But with Satish I was there with him for 48 years),” he told Bollywood Hungama.

He went on to also recall his first meeting with Satish Kaushik at a drama school in Mumbai as he shared, "In 1975, Juhu ke drama school mein mere saath aake baita. Tab hum chote 19-20 saal ke the, toh maine socha tha ki kuch ladkiyan hai class mein jo mere saath bait jayegi and yeh aake bait gaya. Toh maine poocha, 'yahan kyun baita hai, mujhe kya milega', toh usne kahan, 'main hostel mein nahi rehta, local hoon, toh paranthe milenge' (We studied together in a drama school, where one day he came and sat next to me. We were really young and about 19-20 years old during that time and I wanted the girls in my class to sit next to me. So I asked him, ‘Why are you sitting here and what will I get if you sit here’. He told me, ‘I don’t stay in a hostel, I am a local here and you will get home-made paranthas’.”

Kher revealed that Kaushik ‘had a knack of how to grab his attention’ which left him impressed and that’s how their friendship blossomed.

Speaking of Kaagaz 2, the film revolves around the life of a common man which gets heavily impacted due to constant protests and rallies around. Directed by V.K. Prakash, the film is slated to release on March 1.

Also Read: Anupam Kher opens up at Kaagaz 2 screening; engages with Satish Kaushik’s daughter Vanshika and wife