Actor Satish Shah, popular for his roles in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, and Main Hoon Na, died of kidney failure at the age of 74 on Saturday. He was undergoing treatment at Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai.
"Sad and shocked to inform you that well known actor & a great human being Satish Shah has expired an hour ago due to Kidney failure. A great loss to the industry. Om Shanti," filmmaker Ashoke Pandit posted on X.
Comedian Johnny Lever condole Shah's demise in a post on X.
"Feeling extremely sad to share that we’ve lost a great artist & my dearest friend of over 40 years. It’s hard to believe—I had spoken to him just two days ago. Satish Bhai, you will truly be missed. Your immense contribution to film and television will never be forgotten," he wrote.
Shah was widely recognised for his performances in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (1984), Sarabhai vs Sarabhai (2004), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Main Hoon Na (2004), Fanaa (2006) and Om Shanti Om (2007).
A Kutchi Gujarati from Mandvi, Shah studied at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and later at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. He began his acting career with Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978) and went on to appear in over 250 feature films.
Shah gained national popularity with the 1984 sitcom Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, directed by Kundan Shah and Manjul Sinha, in which he played 55 different characters across 55 episodes.
He later starred in Filmy Chakkar (1995), portraying the character of Prakash, and in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai (2004) as Indravadhan Sarabhai. His on-screen pairing with Ratna Pathak Shah in both shows was very popular.
In 1997, he played the father-in-law who sparred with R. Madhavan in Ghar Jamai for 80 episodes and also appeared in All The Best alongside Swaroop Sampat.
In 2008, Shah served as co-judge on Comedy Circus with Archana Puran Singh. He was appointed as a member of the FTII Society in 2015.
Shah is survived by his wife Madhu Shah.
