Satish Shah

lar activities and that helped him develop his personality. At school he was very naughty and over smart. He would do pranks even with his teachers but since he was good at sports he would be escape punishment. He developed passion for dramatics in class IX when he was selected for a school play. When he went on stage and got an overwhelming response for his acting he was fascinated with people’s appreciation. After school he joined Mumbai’s premium St Xavier College with the intention of making a career in cricket but when he realized he was not capable of playing test cricket he got inclined to dramatics. Fortunately his colleagues were Shabana Azmi and Farooq Sheikh. Gabbar Singh aka Amjad Khan was a theater buff and would perform theater at different colleges in Mumbai. He would also frequent St Xavier. Satish Shah was thrilled by theater. After graduation when Shabana Azmi joined FTII, Satish Shah also joined along with her. At FTII Satish Shah won a merit scholarship in the acting course. His batch included Kundan Shah, Manjul Sinha, Raman Kumar. The trio later came together and made Yeh jo Hai Zindagi for TV.

Satish Shah had to struggle for 12 long years After completing his FTII course in 1976 Satish Shah had to struggle for 12 long years until he made his mark with his popular TV serial Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi on DD. Before that he would wander from studio to studio seeking job but it was not easy. To make a living Satish Shah even did minor and insignificant roles in films like Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978), Gaman (1979), Umrao Jaan(1981), Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai (1981) etc. In Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar film Shakti (1982), Satish Shah played one of the goons who try to harass heroine Smita Patil in the local train. Satish Shah’s colleague Kundan Shah came to Shah’s rescue After 12 years of struggle when Satish Shah was broken and wanted to quit acting and join his father’s business Kundan Shah came to his rescue with a small role of a dead man in his film Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983). When Kundan Shah narrated him his role, Satish Shah was left dazed as he had no dialogue, no comedy and no emotion. He had to lay just dead! It was a very challenging role, which Satish did so convincingly that even the film critics were taken aback and wrote rave reviews. Overwhelmed by Satish Shah’s mastery, Kundan Shah signed him to play the key role in his sitcom comedy TV serial Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (1984). The serial was instant hit on Doordarshan, particularly for Satish Shah’s bravo performance. Satish Shah has high regards for Farah Khan After Kundan Shah, the other film director who really exploited Satish Shah’s talent to the hilt was Farah Khan. When Farah Khan started Main Hoon Na her first directorial venture she called Satish Shah and told her to select the role of the principal or the professor who spits while speaking. Initially Shah selected the principal’s role (played by Boman Irani) but on the insistence of Shah Rukh Khan, he opted for the professor. Satish Shah is happy that he opted for Shah Rukh’s choice as more than Boman Irani’s role the audience enjoyed Satish Shah’s role. After Main Hoon Na, Satish Shah became permanent fixture in ShahRukh Khan’s movie’s like Ra.One, Bhoothnath, Om Shanti Om, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Chalte Chalte etc. Satish Shah became uncrown King of TV Satish Shah may be ignored by Bollywood but he found huge success on TV and has been a household name for the past three decades on TV. In the 80’s he was famous for his shows Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Filmi Chakkar to Philips Top Ten - a countdown Bollywood hit song which became popular due to Shah’s unique hosting and the various characters he donned in them. He also judged comedy circus but after Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Satish Shah has been marvelous in Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai. Though the show was dominant by Ratna Pathak as Maya Sarabhai but it was Shah’s punches that made the show a great hit so much that it is back with a back on Hot star as Web series and creating sensation as the original.