I don’t remember at what age I watched Mr. India for the first time. But “Calendar, khana laao” stayed with me, perhaps as much as “Mogambo khush hua”. In Calcutta recently with his latest play Mr. and Mrs. Murarilal, in association with t2, my favourite Calendar, aka Satish Kaushik, had only “10 minutes” before rushing off for the stage rehearsals at Kala Mandir, but we ended up chatting for 40 minutes without a break! 

After 14 years of being ‘Salesman Ramlal’, you are back with another play. What’s special about Mr. and Mrs. Murarilal?
From 1999 to 2014, I have done Salesman Ramlal, an adaptation of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. To play Willy Loman was an achievement for me. My father Banwarilal Kaushik was a salesman in a lock company. That is why Salesman Ramlal was very close to me. After that, I was waiting for the right script, something that will touch me. When Saif (Hyder Hasan) came with Mr. and Mrs. Murarilal, I loved the script. It dealt with happiness, romance and loneliness in old age, which is a very, very good topic. The character of Murarilal is interesting because it is funny, it has its own pathos… he is like a healer… he sings, he dances, he is also a little bit of a flirt, at times he pokes people to the extent of disturbing them — it has many layers. So I loved this Raj Kapoor-ish character and thought that I must do it.

Murarilal is a retired army cook. Calendar in Mr. India was a cook too! You must be a great cook?

No, no, no… trust me, I am the worst cook in the world. I can’t even make tea properly! I always depend on other people for my food. My wife Sashi keeps on telling me ‘don’t be dependent’. But I always find ways to make someone or the other to cook for me. I can only eat. You can see that (points at his belly and laughs out loud)! You don’t need to be a good cook to act like one — that’s the fun of acting!

We have heard you had good fun in your first play as well?

Oh my god! I was in college then (Kirori Mal College in Delhi) and the play was Mr. Abhimanyu, directed by Mukesh Kapoor. He gave me my first break on stage. I was playing one of the guys in a party scene. I was holding a glass, which was supposed to be filled with alcohol, but actually had cola. Suddenly, a student from the audience shouted, “Yeh toh Coca-Cola pee raha hai.” I immediately retorted, “Toh tu bhi peele!” I guess that was my first improvisation on stage.

So you always wanted to be an actor?

Actually I was a mad film buff. I used to be beaten up at home for stealing money and bunking classes to watch films such as Guide and Anand! I was a dreamer. My dream was to be a part of films some day. I used to tell my Bauji (father) that someday my name would be printed in the newspaper! I wanted to be popular.

And this dream took you to National School of Drama and then FTII, Pune?

It was actually professor Frank Thakurdas in K.M. College who pushed me into National School of Drama. One day he told me, “Satish, you should become an actor.” I said I didn’t have the looks to become an actor. He said, ‘When I see you on stage, you are the ultimate good-looking person for me.’ That inspired me a lot to join NSD. After that I did a short course at Film & Television Institute of India, Pune. 

How was the training experience under Ebrahim Alkazi in NSD?

NSD was a solid training ground for actors. We are all Alkazi students. NSD actually opened my mind and gave me confidence. Before NSD, I could never converse in English and had never read literature, as I was a science student. It was at NSD that I started reading big time. I did my first play in NSD as a cruel Nazi soldier in Jean Paul Sartre’s Men Without Shadows. I don’t know how Alkazi sahab gave that role to me. He would rap my knuckles with a baton to teach me how to stand erect on stage. He taught us that acting is not just about learning your lines. It is about trying to grab what is not there.

After acting school, you arrived in Bombay in 1979 with Rs 800…

Oh yes, my brother-in-law gave me that money. Bombay was a great experience. My father helped me get a job as a cashier in a textile company for Rs 400 per month. My first day in the job made me cry. There was a long wall of yarn golas filled with dust. I had to remove all that dust with a jharu! I took it positively and made a filmi dialogue out of it. I told myself, ‘If you can clean this, then the way for Bombay will be clean for you.’ To turn the worst of sad moments into fun is an art. And that comes naturally to me. In the worst of situations, you should be able to make fun of yourself. Otherwise it will just disturb you. 

It’s 37 years you have been in this industry. How has the journey been? 

Times have changed. New directors have come. Corporates have come. Many of them don’t want to cast me thinking that my acting style is not relevant any more. Thank god that I am also doing theatre, and working as a radio jockey. So I stay occupied. To act in films like Brick Lane (2007) or Udta Punjab (2016) is my answer to those who think I am outdated. Of course, there are some young directors who are doing good work. So I work with them. When N. Padmakumar came with the brilliant script of A Billion Colour Story, I not only agreed to do a role in his film but also offered to be the film’s co-producer. It has got rave reviews at film festivals across the world.

Being a film buff, what are the recent movies you’ve liked?

Udta Punjab is a great film. Pink is a very good film. Aligarh is a fantastic film. It’s sad it didn’t do well at the box office. But at least somebody thought of doing a film like that. Even big-scale films like Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Sultan were fantastic. Now Dangal and Kahaani 2 are coming. I am excited… these are the films I love.

Your last film as an actor was Udta Punjab. What’s next? 

Now I am doing a negative role in Commando 2, directed by Deven Bhojani and produced by Vipul Shah. It has Vidyut Jammwal as the male lead. I am also producing a film with N. Padmakumar called Distant Teardrop, an English film to be shot in Sri Lanka and Canada.

Any plans of directing again?

Yes, my script is ready now. It’s called Main Zinda Hoon, a biopic of a common man from UP who tries to prove that he is alive after being declared dead in the government records.

Comedy or serious roles — what do you enjoy more?

The transition from comic to serious roles is difficult at times, because people consider you a funny guy. At this stage, I want to do meatier roles. In Hollywood, even if you become 50 or 60, you get great roles. I am hoping today’s directors will notice my films and give me much meatier roles. 

Have you turned 60?

Is it necessary? Whatever age you are in, you must live with great aplomb. Age doesn’t matter! 

You hum quite a few lines in Mr. and Mrs. Murarilal. Are you a music buff too?

I love Kishore Kumar songs. Pick any song and it’s a gem! Yeh jo mahabbat hai, yeh unka hai kaam... ohh... kya gana hai! 

Pictures: Chanchal Ghosh
Which is your favourite Satish  Kaushik role? Tell t2@abp.in