Actor Rakesh Bedi and Satish Shah were not just colleagues in the Indian entertainment industry, they were also friends, classmates and even flatmates at one point in life.
As Satish Shah bid adieu to this world on Saturday and left a hole in the hearts of fellow colleagues and fans from the entertainment industry, Rakesh recalls his bond with his ‘Satya’, someone with whom he gave the hit iconic show Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi.
Sharing the time their friendship started, Rakesh says, “I have known him since 1974. It is when we joined Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). We have been classmates, flatmates and have been friends for all these years. He has been a great artist and we have always had so much respect for each other throughout our careers. He would carry his humour on his sleeves.”
Highlighting one of the most special characteristics of Satish’s personality, Rakesh shares that he never saw the Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro actor in a bad mood.
“Satish Shah was never sad. I have never seen him sulking. He would always talk about things with so much passion and joy, especially is work. Even when he was unwell, and the doctor would come, he would crack jokes with him. This was the beauty of that man,” remembers the senior actor.
Satish and Rakesh’s show Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi was a popular sitcom which went on air in 1984. The format of the show was such where the leading characters of Ranjit Verma (Shafi Inamdar) and Renu Verma (Swaroop Sampat) would encounter new situations every week and Satish played different characters every week with new situations.
Rakesh, who played Renu’s brother Raja in the show, feels that the current generations would be gobsmacked if they saw the show now.
“We had a great cast, everyone had a great sense of humour. If the current generation sees the show and Satish’s performance now, they will be shocked and surprised. For Satish to create a new character every week was art! Not just character, everything about the character used to be different, the look, the accent, the dialogues,” he says.
Rakesh, candidly shares that he would call Satish “Satya” and in turned would be addressed as “Bedi” by Satish.
“I never called him Satish, I would always call him Satya and he always called me Bedi. We were this close. I would often meet him, even when he was a unwell. I would try and talk to him whenever he was in the condition to talk back,” Rakesh concludes.