Actor Satish Shah, known for his supporting roles and comic performances in a career spanning over four decades, passed away due to kidney failure earlier today at Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai. Satish was 74 at the time. He recently underwent a kidney transplant after experiencing complications with the organ.
One of Satish's early roles came in 1978's Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan, and after a string of small characters in the subsequent years, his breakthrough came with Kundan Shah's classic satire Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Satish played a corrupt commissioner named D'Mello in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, regarded as one of the greatest-ever films in Hindi cinema. His comical role, including even as a dead body for a good part of the film, played a central part in its satirical and dark take on systemic corruption, and it won him a lot of plaudits.
His other, more recent notable role came as Madhav Rasai, a professor who spits while speaking, in Farah Khan's Main Hoon Na. Recently, he recalled expressing his reluctance to take up the role until Shah Rukh Khan, his co-star in the film, convinced him, saying nobody else could do it. Reportedly, Satish has appeared in more than 250 films, including Hum Saath-Saath Hain, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa.
On television, Satish Shah's most iconic role was as Indravardhan Sarabhai, the sardonic patriarch of the titular family, in the sitcom Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. He also starred in Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, another popular sitcom from the 1980s.
