Showing posts with label Maharashtra Rifle Association. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maharashtra Rifle Association. Show all posts
Maharashtra Rifle Association pays heartfelt tribute to Satish Shah
10:10 AM
Mumbai shooting top brass remember actor and his penchant for the sport; shadow falls long over Worli shooting range
Hemal Ashar (MID-DAY; October 29, 2025)
The guns fell silent at the rifle shooting range at Worli Sea Face on Sunday, October 26, as shooters struggled to come to terms with actor Satish Shah’s death on October 25.
Sheila Kanungo, secretary-general, Maharashtra Rifle Association (MRA), said, echoing the MRA top brass sentiment in Mumbai, “His shadow falls long over this shooting range. Years earlier, he was a regular here and quite adept at ‘big bore’ shooting. He did well at the sport, but I guess he could not give it time because of acting commitments. He may not have been at the range too often of late, but he was a larger-than-life presence here. The comedian-actor found his target, whether on the range or on a film set.”
Ashok Pandit, MRA president, said, “Shah was a true lover of guns. Take him to look at a gun collection, and his eyes would start twinkling like a kid in a candy shop.” Pandit remembered, “His shooting aside, it was his laugh that boomed loudest at the shooting range. He was great at mimicry. As a fine actor, he could copy how the champions would shoot, too. Then, he made his mark big-time (pun intended) in the acting world too,” said Pandit.
Chandrakant Pujari, the MRA vice-president, rewound to academia. Pujari said, “Satish Shah was my classmate at St Xavier’s College in Mumbai. He always had the gift of making people laugh. He eventually left college to study acting. Initially, he did not get a break. Then, I think he got a role in television, and of course, after that, his acting career zoomed.”
Pujari recalled, “I think the last I saw Shah at the shooting range was a year ago. His association with shooting goes back to 1978, though. We had one Capt Ezekiel — coach and in-charge of the Worli range. Capt coached Satish Shah and was very friendly with him too. Shah proved that actors can do both, give a box office hit and hit the bull's eye too.”
Daisy Shah is now a licensed rifle-shooter and also competed in the Nationals this year
8:08 AM
The actress is a licensed rifle shooter who has competed at the National level this year and is gearing up for another major competition next month
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 11, 2019)
The ‘Race’ may have ended but not Daisy Shah’s love for action, fuelled undoubtedly by her mentor-friend Salman Khan. A little over two years ago, she started learning rifle shooting and in May this year, she got her license from the National Rifle Association Of India. “It started off for fun with me accompanying some friends who were into shooting for practise. Prodded by them, when I gave it a try, they pronounced that I was a natural at it and should pursue it further. I did, got into the Nationals in May but didn’t win against contestants who had scored as high as 580 and 597 out of 600. Mine was 497 which wasn’t too bad and now I have my licence too,” exults the actress, going on to explain that with every shot that hits bullseye, you earn 10 points.She rues the lack of practise, admitting she went into the competition with just two days of prep. She didn’t even get to try her shots in a 300-metre range as the biggest in Mumbai is 50 metres. “But now I have started training for the Point 22 rifle shooting competition in August under my coach Moraad Ali Khan, who is an Arjuna Awardee. I practice at the Maharashtra Rifle Association for at least two hours every day. This sport requires complete dedication and is very therapeutic. You have to have a blank mind when you shoot which is a kind of meditation too,” smiles Daisy who admits the heavy rifle was difficult to carry earlier but she has now got accustomed to its weight.
She points out that she looked convincing firing a gun in Race 3 because the sport had taught her how to unload a bullet, which you see in the film. “I’ll never lose touch with the sport, but at the same time I will always be an actress first,” she asserts.
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