Rajkumar Santoshi, Ramesh Sippy, Ananth Mahadevan and Rajesh Mapuskar remember actor Viju Khote, who passed away on Monday
Avinash.Lohana and Akash.Bhatnagar (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 1, 2019)

Viju Khote who rose to fame as Kaalia in Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay, going on to top it with the bumbling Robert and his “galti se mistake ho gaya” punchline in Andaz Apna Apna, passed away at 6.55 am on Monday, peacefully in his sleep at home. “He had multiple organ failure and had been unwell for quite some time,” the 77-year-old actor’s niece, Bhavana Balsavar, was quoted as saying.

Sippy informed that he had met Viju through his actress-sister Shubha Khote who’d requested that the filmmaker meet him. “We called him in, he fit the role of Kaalia and became popular after Sholay’s release, receiving loud applause whenever he delivered the dialogue (“Sardar, maine aapka namak khaya hai”) on stage,” he reminisces, adding that he had met the late actor a few days ago at a play. “As always, he came forward, touched my feet and said, ‘Sir, you made my life.’ He was a humble and wonderful person.”

Rajkumar Santoshi, who had directed Viju in Ghayal before Andaz Apna Apna, went on to cast him in subsequent directorials like Ghatak, China-Gate, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Phata Poster Nikhla Hero. “He was a fantastic actor with very good timing. No one could’ve played Robert like he did. He would drop by whenever he was in Juhu. I’m currently writing the second part of Andaz Apna Apna and had a role for him in mind. He didn’t get the roles he deserved,” sighs Santoshi.

Ananth Mahadevan, whose association with the late actor dates back over 25 years, worked with him in several plays. The duo also went on to partner in the hit TV show, Zabaan Sambhal Ke. Viju also had a cameo in his actor-filmmaker friend’s 2015 directorial, Gour Hari Dastaan. “It’s sad that he’s gone, but he was ailing... I was fortunate to work with him on all the three platforms—films, theatre, TV—and had wanted to cast him in a lead role in one of my films but that never materialised,” he informs.

Ananth goes on to recount an incident that showcased Viju’s acting prowess. “We arrived in Kolkata to perform the play Yours, Mine and Ours and discovered that there was a bandh in the city. Worried that few people would turn up for our show, en route to the hotel, we wrote a skit titled Bandh-o-bust with Viju selling bandhs and I as the buyer. It was a huge success and everyone was amazed that we had pulled it off in just two hours. Only a theatre artiste could do that,” the actor-filmmaker reminisces.

Rajesh Mapuskar, who directed him in the 2016 Marathi comedy drama, Ventilator, was among the visitors at the Chandanwadi crematorium in Marine Lines for the last rites.

“Even if he didn’t have any scenes or rehearsals, he would be in my office. It worried me because he had to travel all the way from Girgaon but he insisted he didn’t like to sit at home,” the filmmaker shares, adding that another time, rehearsals for a scene with actor Jitendra Joshi, left the veteran actor in tears. “‘There was a time when I could remember the entire play, ab memory ki wajah se ek line nahin yaad aa rahi’, he had said. It moved me to tears too,” Rajesh concludes.

The veteran actor paased away at his residence in Mumbai on Monday
Onkar Kulkarni and Ismat Tahseen (BOMBAY TIMES; October 1, 2019)

Veteran actor Viju Khote, who played Kaalia in the iconic Bollywood film Sholay (1975), is no more. The 77-year-old died at 6.55 am of multiple organ failure at his residence in Mumbai.

“He passed away in his sleep at the residence. He had been unwell for quite some time,” actress Bhavana Balsavar, his niece, said.

Famous for his roles in Sholay and the Aamir Khan-Salman Khan-starrer, Andaz Apna Apna (1994), late Viju Khote began his acting career as a theatre actor. He is veteran actor Shubha Khote’s brother and actress Bhavana Balsavar’s uncle. Late actress Durga Khote was his aunt.

The actor, who was most remembered for his role in the 1993-sitcom Zabaan Sambhalke, starred in Hindi and Marathi movies. He was seen in films like Garam Masala, Pukar, Mela, China Gate and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak among others. His last notable work includes Marathi film Ventilator (2016), which was produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas. He was last seen in the Bollywood movie, Jaane Kyun De Yaaron (2018), which also starred Kabir Bedi.

Talking about the deceased actor, theatre personality Bharat Dabholkar says, “Viju was an integral part of my plays — over 25 of them — and my life. He was an amazing actor who must have done over 300 films. His comic timing was impeccable. But somehow, the Kaalia tag got stuck to him. Whenever we travelled, he would get mobbed. He was also a fantastic dancer, which not many people know. Whenever he would dance in my plays, he would put even renowned dancers to shame, and get an ovation from the audience.”

He added, “Above everything, Viju was a caring and sensitive human being. He would get tears in his eyes at the drop of a hat, and was the most gracious host. I am just glad that he went without suffering.”

Ramesh Sippy, who directed the actor in Sholay, said, “Most of Gabbar Singh’s lines from Sholay became folklore. Viju was part of one of the exchanges of dialogues between him and Gabbar. He did his job really well. The last time I met him was a few years ago when my wife and I had gone to see a play. He was present for the show with his sister Shubha Khote.”

Actor Rishi Kapoor wrote a heartfelt note for his friend on Twitter. He wrote, “RIP. Viju Khote. Dear friend over the years. Though much elder, we used to bike together along with sister Shobha Khoteji, when I was young. Passionate and well informed about American films. We will miss you. Viju kutte aahe? (sic).”