Leaving his admirers and friends in the film industry shocked, Bollywood filmmaker and comedian Satish Chandra Kaushik died from a sudden heart attack on the way to hospital, actor Anupam Kher informed on Thursday over Twitter. He was 66.

"I know death is the ultimate truth of this world! But I never dreamed I will write this thing about you my dear friend #SatishKaushik, Such a sudden end to 45 years of friendship!! Life will NEVER be the same without you SATISH! Om Shanti! 💔💔💔," tweeted Anupam Kher about his many films' co-actor and work partner, who was a successful  director, producer, comedian and screenwriter.

He became popular essaying the role of "Calendar" in Shekhar Kapur's 1987 film Mr. India which starred Sridevi and Anil Kapoor.

He played popular charecters like Pappu Pager in Deewana Mastana, and as "Chanu Ahmed" in Sarah Gavron's British film Brick Lane (2007). He won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award twice: in 1990 for Ram Lakhan and in 1997 for Saajan Chale Sasural.

Satish was born on 13 April 1956 in Mahendragarh, Haryana. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi in 1972. He was an alumnus of both the National School of Drama and the Film and Television Institute of India. 

He was also a theatre actor and performed on stage in the Hindi play "Willy Loman", an adaptation of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. 

His first film as a director was Sridevi-Anil Kapoor's Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993). His second was Prem (1995). While both were flops he tasted success with with Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain in 1999.

In 2005, Kaushik directed Arjun Rampal, Amisha Patel and Zayed Khan in Vaada.

In 2007 Kaushik, together with Anupam Kher, who had been his batchmate at NSD, launched a new film company called Karol Bagh Productions. Their first film, Teree Sang, was directed by Satish Kaushik.

He was married to Shashi Kaushik. While the couple's first child, a son, died in 1996 when he was only two years old, in 2012, his daughter Vanshika was born through surrogacy.