Farhad Samji directed late actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik in his ready-for-release web show Pop Kaun?, and had also been working with him for the upcoming film, the Salman Khan-starrer Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. Owing to their close association of many years, the news of Kaushik’s death feels like a personal loss to the director.

“My association with Satish ji goes back 22 years, when I got my first break as a lyricist. It was a song for the film Hum Kisise Kum Nahin (2002), and Pappu Pager (played by Kaushik) was one of the characters in that song... Satish ji was the first person from the film industry who encouraged me,” the Housefull 4 director recalls.

Kaushik’s absence, the 48-year-old adds, will always be felt because of the kind of person he was. “He was so vibrant. Mahaul ko saja dene wale bande the. He would tell us his stories. When you know he is not here anymore, you don’t understand what’s life and what’s death,” he shares.

With Kaushik’s death, Samji says he didn’t just lose a colleague, but also a “father figure”. “Do saal se mera interaction unke saath bahut zyada tha. He has an important character in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, too. That’s why we were close for two years. He would guide me on how to work. He was kind of a father figure to me, telling me what’s right and wrong, and always wishing the best for me. Aaj woh nahin hain toh bahut khaalipan sa lag raha hai. We have lost a very good person,” Samji ends.