On March 9, actor and filmmaker Satish Kaushik passed away in Gurugram, after reportedly suffering a heart attack. His friends and colleagues from the film industry who remember him as ‘a great artiste and a greater human being’ are still reeling from the shock of his sudden demise.

On April 13, his close friend of many years, Anupam Kher, hosted a musical event to commemorate his birth anniversary. The event was attended by several celebrities who have shared a long association with the late actor. Guests included Subhash Ghai, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Anil Kapoor, Chunky Panday, Poonam Dhillon, Rani Mukerji, Neena Gupta, Nadira Babbar, Vivek Agnihotri, Sonali Bendre, Johny Lever, Talat Aziz, Lalit Pandit, Udit Narayan, Shankar Mahadevan, and Papon.

At the event, there were musical performances interspersed by moments where his friends shared heartwarming memories of him. During Aditi Singh Sharma’s rendition of Hawa Hawai (Mr India), Anil Kapoor came on stage, shook a leg and paid a tribute to his dear friend.

The event wrapped up on a highly emotional note when Satish’s wife Shashi and daughter Vanshika came on stage to cut a cake and they were joined by others. Vanshika also read a posthumously addressed letter to her father, which deeply moved everyone. Satish Kaushik would have turned 67 on April 13.

------------------------------------

With memories, love, music and laughter, late actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik’s birth anniversary on Thursday, April 13, was an emotional yet wholesome celebration. A musical night was organised in his memory by his friend of four decades, actor Anupam Kher, with Satish’s daughter, Vanshika Kaushik, and wife, Shashi Kaushik, in attendance. While singer Armaan Malik sang Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon, which Anupam said was “Satish’s favourite song that he would hum all the time”, singer Papon sang Moh Moh Ke Dhaage (Dum Laga Ke Haisha; 2015).

Singers Udit Narayan Jha and Sadhana Sargam belted out their classic number Pehla Nasha (Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar; 1991). Ghazal singer Talat Aziz and composer-singer Shankar Mahadevan sang the title track of Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003).

Vanshika reading aloud a letter she wrote to her father was the most emotional part of the evening, and a cake-cutting ceremony came next. A part of the letter read, “Hello Papa, I know that now you are no more but I want you to know that I will always be there for you. If I knew this was going to happen, I would miss school just to spend time with you. I wish I could have hugged you once.”

Another highlight was Satish’s close friend Anil Kapoor breaking into an impromptu dance on stage to Hawa Hawaii, a song from Mr India (1987), which co-starred him and Satish. Actor Shabana Azmi and her husband, lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar, spoke about their association with Satish and left the audience in splits with funny anecdotes. The one thing no person forgot to mention was the late actor’s smile and his positive attitude at all times.

Anupam told ANI, “Initially, I’d thought not to do it (the celebration). But around 4-5 days ago, Satish came in my dream and said, ‘Yaar, tu mere liye kuch nahin kar raha hai kya?’ So I decided to celebrate his life today.”