Satish Shah once wanted to punch a fan: ‘He asked me to tell a joke when my wife was dying’

Satish Shah is famous for his roles in the cult comedy show Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai and films like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Main Hoon Na and Kal Ho Naa Ho. He recently told CNN-News18 in an interview that fans in India often fail to differentiate between a character and a person, and shared an incident when he was asked to tell a joke while his wife was almost ‘dying’. Also read: Vaibhavi Upadhyaya’s co-stars mourn her death: ‘Whole Sarabhai vs Sarabhai team is in a shock’

Satish is married to Madhu Shah since 1982. The incident happened when she was very seriously ill and on the operation table, and he was sitting outside in deep worry.

When Satish Shah wanted to hit a fan

“India mein ye problem hai (this is a problem in India). They can’t differentiate between a person and an actor or a guy who is performing and a guy who is a normal person. They expect you to be funny even in the moments…in the environment where one has to be serious…when the circumstances make you serious. But one has to live with it,” he told CNN-News18.

Sharing the incident, he said, “My wife was seriously ill, she was almost dying on the operation table. And I was very tense because we’d been married only for three months. I was sitting outside, very worried, and a guy comes to me and says, ‘Kya yaar, aap aise serious baithe ho, ache nahi lagte ho, koi joke-woke maaro (what is this, you are sitting in such a serious mood, tell a joke.’ Joke to maarne ki baat alag hai, main usey ek knockout punch maar sakta tha (forget the joke, I could hit him). But somehow, better sense prevailed, and I just walked off. But it’s part of the baggage we carry.”

Satish Shah’s famous characters, films

Most of the iconic characters played by Satish Shah were comic in nature. He played Commissioner D’Mello in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Pappi in Hero No 1, Prof. Rasai in Main Hoon Na and Indravadan Sarabhai in the TV show Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai. He has also appeared in films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Hum Saath Saath Hain.

After a long break from films, Satish will now make a comeback with Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki. The film has Shah Rukh Khan and Taapsee Pannu in the lead roles and is slated to release in December.