Filmmaker David Dhawan turned emotional as he remembered his friend of five decades, Satish Shah, who died on Saturday.

“You don’t even know how close we were,” Dhawan tells us. “We passed out from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) together. Forget the number of films we did, we knew each other for 50 years! I did editing, he did acting. This news is a shock,” he adds.

Calling Satish “full of life”, the director adds, “I have such great memories with him. He used to get his dialysis done at Lilavati Hospital. If I was shooting at Mehboob Studios, I’d call and ask, ‘Aayega?’ and he would come! He was perfectly fine; problems started only after the kidney transplant. He was in Kolkata too for some time.”

The two worked together in comedy hits such as Hero No.1 (1997) and Saajan Chale Sasuraal (1996). “As an actor, Satish was superb,” says David. “Usko yaad karke hanste the hum sab FTII wale. His friend circle was very big. We spoke often on the phone, he would send me random messages or cartoons, and I’d reply, ‘Kya kar raha hai, Satish!’ He had stopped working some time back and told me, ‘Bahot kaam kar liya, ab aaram karna hai.’ I said, ‘Meri film main shuru karunga, terko lena hai usme,’ and he replied, ‘Haan, teri wali kar lunga’,” David shares.

Pausing for a moment, the director adds softly, “Bahot rhythm thi Satish mein. He could dance, sing, act, kamaal ka tha. What can I say… Satish.”