Veteran Bollywood actor Satish Shah passed away on Saturday at the age of 74. The news was confirmed by filmmaker Ashoke Pandit to NDTV. Satish Shah was born on June 25, 1951, in Bombay (now Mumbai) into a Kutchi Gujarati family.
“With a heavy heart, I want to say that our friend and a very good actor, Satish Shah, died around 2:30 pm today due to kidney failure,” Pandit said.
“His health deteriorated while he was at home, and he was taken to the hospital immediately. Sadly, he couldn’t survive. His cremation will take place today. It’s a very big loss for the industry. I have worked with him on many projects. I was coming back from Piyush Pandey’s last rites when my family informed me about Satish’s passing.”
Who Was Satish Shah?
Satish made his film debut in 1978 with Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan and gained widespread recognition for his role as Municipal Commissioner D’Mello in the 1983 satirical classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.
Over his illustrious career, Shah appeared in more than 250 films, including popular titles such as Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), and Om Shanti Om (2007).
Also Read: When Satish Shah Faced Racism At London’s Heathrow, He Replied With Pride, ‘Because We Are Indians…’
Main Hoon Na Spitting Scene With Shah Rukh Khan
In 2023, Shah reminisced about his experience on the sets of Main Hoon Na, where he played a professor who spits while speaking. He humorously referred to himself as the “spitting cobra” due to this quirky role.
Speaking to Bollywood Bubble, he said, “It was not easy. I used to take in a gulp of water and keep it around my mouth and accentuate certain words and syllables in a way that it comes out like a spray.”
He recalled the classroom scene where he had to scold Shah Rukh Khan’s character, Major Ram. “I used to work so hard on it but Shah Rukh would laugh so we would have a retake. So once we had 8 retakes, and then I got upset. I said I’ll not do it after this. Everybody was laughing and falling off their chairs on the set. Then I gave the eighth shot and Shah Rukh laughed again. They had to use Zayed’s insert shot here.”
Shah revealed that when Shah Rukh Khan and director Farah Khan offered him the role, he was given a choice between two characters: the principal (eventually played by Boman Irani) and the spitting professor. “Maine kaha yeh kya galeech role hai (I said, what a disgusting role),” he recalled.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
