Sridevi has been a turning point in actor/filmmaker Satish Kaushik’s life. His claim to fame being the superstar’s Mr India, which headlined him as an associate director. This bonanza led him to helm producer Boney Kapoor’s extravaganza Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, once again frontlined by Sridevi and Anil Kapoor. Though the titan tanked and left Boney in the red, it failed to make a dent in their friendship – something Satish values till date. In fact, the thought of Sridevi’s silent yet steadfast support to Satish during the two darkest phases of his life – the loss of face after Roop Ki Rani and the loss of his young son – wells his eyes with tears. Tears of admiration, of appreciation, of affection. For Satish, Sridevi will always remain ‘Madam’ – a metaphor for someone he lionized as a person and performer. In Satish Kaushik’s own words…
STELLAR SQUAD
When we began making Mr India (1987), we didn’t realise how iconic it would turn out to be or its ability to entertain generations. The story is fantastical yet emotional. Arun (Anil Kapoor), who strives to raise orphaned kids, uses his scientist father’s invisibility device – a watch – to save them and India from megalomaniac Mogambo (Amrish Puri). Seema (Sridevi), a journalist, is Arun’s comrade and beloved in this fight. Mr India was to be directed by Shekhar Kapur, whom I’d assisted in Masoom (1983). We’d also done ad films together. From the third assistant I’d become family for him. Though I am an alumnus of the National School of Drama (NSD), I imbibed his filmmaking techniques. Boney Kapoor, who was the producer, was keen
that I assist Shekhar given our wavelength. Boney and Javed Akhtar saab (who wrote the script), came to my humble house in Santacruz East to narrate the film. Boney wanted me to be a bouncing board for Javed saab. He offered me a fat salary, an unheard of amount those days. He also said he’d credit me as ‘associate director’. In fact, my name appears first in the individual credits of Mr India. That was so kind of him. Anupam Kher was first cast as the evil Mogambo. But he didn’t look as menacing. Mogambo had to appear ruthless but with a touch of the comic. The late Amrish Puri saab seemed perfect for it. His dialogue, “Mogambo khush huwa!” is now part of the Indian ethos. For Anil Kapoor too this was an unforgettable film. My character of the caretaker and cook, Calendar, was inspired from my dad’s business associate from Rajasthan, who randomly used the word ‘calendar’ in every sentence. It was his takiya kalam, his catchphrase. I grabbed the role as I wanted to act. We added a subtle effeminate touch to Calendar. For this, I was inspired by an actor (Salim Nasir), who played a domestic help, in the Paksitani series Aangan Terha (1984). My first shot was of me buying groceries. When I said, “Chaliye Arun bhaiyya ghar jaakar khana pakana hai or usse pehle chawal mein se kankar chunne hai!” Everyone on the set burst out laughing. Calendar was a humane character too. The scene, where the hungry children demand food and Calendar is heartbroken as there’s no food in the house, moved the audience to tears.
CHILD’S PLAY
The child actors were the naughtiest in the world. We brought Ahmed Khan from Pune. Then there was Aftab Shivdasani, Karan Nath (Riku Nath’s son), Baby Zeenat, Master Sameer, Baby Shabista, Baby Anjum, Tapan Shah, Venus Pujari and the little girl Huzan Khodaiji. Boney had put up a set in the fishermen’s village in Versova. A special room was made for the children to relax and play games. A volleyball court was also put up. Teachers were hired to keep the children updated with the curriculum missed at school. As an assistant, I had to get the children going. Danda lekar bhaagna padhta tha.They hated me. But though they were mischievous, they were lovable. Shekhar has a way with children as was witnessed in Masoom. He kept them away from overacting. The underplay made them appear authentic. Mr India had incredible behind-the-scenes talent. Cinematographer Baba Azmi, action director Veeru Devgn, Peter Periera, who used the Mitchell camera for special effects, art director Bijon Das Gupta, choreographer Saroj Khan, music composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal…the team was of the highest order, with the driver being Boney. The film worked because creative insights matched sharp commercial sensibilities.
ICONIC SRIDEVI
After Himmatwala (1983), Sridevi was the dream actor for every producer in the Hindi industry. We were all intimidated by her. She had such an aura. Off the camera, she was shy and reserved. But when the camera came on she was magic and on screen she had even greater magic. Seeing her perform was like a masterclass. She had such ease with dance and comedy. She was the heart of the film. Mr India was the first film Sridevi dubbed in Hindi. Suhsma Ahuja, a theater personality from Chennai, trained her in Hindi. For the Charlie Chaplin scene, we made her watch the legendary comedian’s work. It took 15-20 days to shoot those scenes at RK Studio. For the first time, a woman had played Chaplin. Modulating her voice, putting on a moustache, the dart board scene in the casino… she got it all bang on. The chartbuster, Kate nahin katte yeh din yeh raat, was shot in Filmistan. Boney challenged Shekhar that nothing could come close to Sridevi’s Har kisiko nahi milta from Feroz Khan’s Janbaaz (1986), where in a white chiffon saree, she looked sublime. Shekhar took it further and Kate nahin katte turned epic. Sridevi was running a temperature, yet she shot the rain sequence. There’s absolutely no skin show in the song. It was so sexy and yet not a single shot was vulgar. Her wax statue at Madame Tussauds is modeled on her Hawa Hawaii look. She performed the number at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata for the charity show Hope ’86, much before the release of Mr India. The philosophic Zindagi ki yehi reet hai, was shot across Mumbai – Napean Sea Road, Altamount Road, the golf club at Chembur… to convey both hope and happiness. An incident I vividly recall is of the time when Sridevi had already done one schedule with us. But we were still very much in awe of her. One night after drinks in Chennai, Boney said, “Chalo Sridevi ka ghar dikhata hoon.” Javed saab, Shabanaji (Azmi), myself and a few others were taken to tour her house. Like fanboys we stood outside her house, as fascinated as Boney was. After Mr India, for the first time Sridevi threw a party at her Chennai house. All top South stars were invited. From Mumbai, Boney and I were invited. That year, the industry being on strike, the Filmfare Awards were not held. Years later in 2003, Sridevi was conferred a Special Award for the film.
ROOP KI RANI…
It was kind of Sridevi to agree to work with a new director like me in Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993). At the silver jubilee party of Mr India, the mahurat of Roop Ki Rani… was also held. Introduced as a ‘star director’, I came in on a trolley, waving out to the guests. For the first time, she agreed to dance on a stage in the auditorium. Anil and she performed on the title song. Once during the making of Roop Ki Rani…, we were invited to her home. Anupam Kher, Anil and I along with a few others were present. We were treated to great South Indian fare – idli, dosas, wadas… Soon, it was 7 pm. We were all craving for a drink when her father (Ayyapan Yanger) asked, “Will anyone have a drink?” We didn’t have the courage to say yes. But Anupam with his candour said, “Yes sir I will have whiskey and he will have this and he will have that.” Soon bottles were opened and we partied. Those days, Sridevi had appeared on the cover of The Illustrated Weekly where she had named around nine people, who’d impressed her. The list included legendary personalities like MGR and NTR from the South. From the Hindi industry, she named Yash Chopraji and me. I was the youngest amongst the stalwarts. It was humbling. She being a workaholic, perhaps she saw a similar obsession in me. Incidentally, Boney and Sridevi came close during Roop Ki Rani… and got married a few years later. The buzz around Roop Ki Rani… was strong. Every producer wanted to sign me after seeing the rushes. I was considered a hotshot director. But the film tanked. You may believe you’ve made a good film but on screen it becomes something else. We had nine premieres across the country. The entire cast was present at the first premiere. By the time the last one was held in Kolkata, only Boney and Anil were there. One evening getting emotional, I said I wanted to attempt suicide. It was an idiotic thing to say. Later, I joked about it saying, “Had I committed suicide from the first floor of the hotel, I’d have fallen on the aloo gobi being served down.” To digress a bit, when Roop Ki Rani… completed 25 years in 2018, I tweeted an apology to Boney for the massive debacle. Boney had invested his confidence and trust in me. You should embrace your failure as you embrace your success as passionately. Neeche gir kar uthna is important. After Roop Ki Rani… Sridevi and I came together again for the sitcom Malini Iyer (2004). I directed the initial 10 to 12 episodes. As a South Indian girl coming to a Punjabi family, she was such fun. We shot it on a set in Mumbai so that she could be around the children, Janhvi and Khushi. We’d made a house for her on the set, complete with a bedroom and drawing room. Sridevi was a devoted mother. Bacchon mein jaan rehti thi. She quit the limelight only to look after her family. She had no qualms going to the market to buy fresh fish and vegetables or walking barefoot to Siddhi Vinayak temple to pray for Boney’s success. On her birthday, she’d regularly visit the Tirupati temple.
OUR BOND
Through the years, while others began calling her Sri, I continued to address her as ‘Madam’. I respected her for her talent and the person she was. She attended my wedding When my two-year-old son, Shanu, passed away in 1996, she came home to offer condolences. She was a person of few words but you could sense her genuine feelings for you. Years later, when my daughter, Vanshika, was born (2012), Ma’am was very happy for us. She came home along with Boney and presented me with a painting of Om with mantras. Tears well up in my eyes when I recall those moments. I was shocked when I heard of her demise (February 24, 2018). I wanted to fly to Dubai. But Boney said they were coming back. He was sobbing as he spoke to me. The thought that she’s no more is unbelievable. She was hale and hearty. She had made such an impressive comeback with English Vinglish (2012) and Mom (2017)… Her passing away is truly tragic. But I guess, you have to accept it and live with it. Like when I lost my son, I was broken. I didn’t want to work anymore. In fact, you feel guilty about going back to work. Both – the failure of Roop Ki Rani… and the loss of my son taught me a lot. You don’t know what destiny has in surprise. You just have to carry on.