Actor Satish Kaul dies of Covid-19 in Ludhiana

Satish Kaul, a major Punjabi film star and a familiar face in Hindi cinema of the 1970s and 80s who suffered the vicissitudes of fortune, succumbed to coronavirus in Ludhiana on Saturday. He was 74.
“He had fever and wasn’t keeping well. We admitted him to the hospital on Thursday and got him tested, where it turned out that he was Covid-19 positive,” his sister Satya Devi told PTI.Kaul’s popular Punjabi films include, ‘Sassi Punnu,’ Lachhi, ‘Vehra Lambran Da’ and ‘Wohti Hath Soti.
Son of renowned Kashmiri singer Mohan Lal Aima and a graduate from FTII, Pune, the actor was first noticed in Ved Rahi’s ‘Prem Parbat’ (1973) where he played Rehana Sultan’s love interest. “He was a year junior to me at FTII, Pune. I remember we shot the film at Patnitop in Jammu and Kashmir. He was a simple young man who didn’t talk much then,” she told TOI on phone.
Blessed with likeable looks, Kaul played the lead in a handful of Hindi films like ‘Mere Sartaj’ (1975) and ‘Harfan Maulaa’ (1976) but gradually slipped to smaller roles. He was Dilip Kumar’s son in Subhash Ghai’s ‘Karma’ (1986) and partly got to croon the patriotic track, Dil diya hai jaan bhi denge ae watan tere liye. He can be seen playing the synthesizer in Mera dil gaye ja zubi zubi zubi in B Subhash’s ‘Dance Dance’ (1987) and mouthing the title track Commando (1988), for the same director. He acted in a bunch of devotionals such as Sheetla Mata (1981) but is more likely to be remembered as Lord Indra in the blockbuster tv serial Mahabharat (1988-90).
After the roles dried up, Kaul set up a fairly successful acting school in Ludhiana a decade ago.
But a hip bone fracture following a bathroom fall in 2015 left him long hospitalized and drained of cash. He even lived in an old-age home for some time drawing media attention.
Among those who mourned his demise on social media were singer Harbhajan Mann, union minister Som Parkash, director Ashoke Pandit and senior Akali Dal politician Sukhbir Singh Badal. In his tweet, Badal described Kaul as “perhaps the first superstar of Punjabi film industry.”
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh’s post hailed Kaul as “a versatile actor who played a pivotal role in the promotion of Punjab & Punjabi culture” and who “will always be remembered for his enormous contribution in making Punjabi cinema popular.” In an interview to PTI last May, Kaul revealed that he was struggling for medicines and basic needs during the lockdown. He had also expressed his wish to act. “The fire to act is still alive in me. It isn’t over...I’m raring to act again,” he had said.
Once an actor, always an actor!