Amarjeet Singh Reminisces on Satish Kaushik's Birth Anniversary

Satish Kaushik's birthday is on 13th April. In a meeting with Amarjeet Singh, the secretary of many artists working in Bollywood, when Satish Kaushik was mentioned, his eyes filled with tears - "He was my friend, he was like a brother! Our relationship was much more than the relationship between an artist and a secretary." "Amarjeet Singh becomes emotional. “You will be missed a lot, Satish! This is the first anniversary after your departure, I can't imagine..! Two days before his death, he had to sign a project, he said, wait for two days, and let me return after playing Holi from Delhi... And he never returned!”

Remembering Naveen Nischol: A Star Artist

Another such star artist who joined Amarjeet's life as an artist was Naveen Nischol. "Naveen Ji also had dinner with us and had left for Holi. He had left for Pune with Randhir Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor etc. and he had a heart attack in Bandra itself. I am my support to both Satish ji and Naveen Nischol. Not a secretary, but a brother. They called me elder brother."

It has been 47 years since Amarjeet Singh has been associated with films as a secretary. "There was a different time when we were associated with films. At that time, the relationship between the secretary and the artist - the star in your words - was not in commercial terms like it is nowadays. We were all friends and we would get the role suitable for the artist. Whatever our artist was, they did not feel bad. All the secretaries of their class (many of whom are no longer alive or have left the industry) were like this. We all maintained a brotherly relationship."

"How did you get into films?" When asked, Amarjeet recalls - "I was a big fan of Devanand. I did not like the business of timber merchant (wood trade) in my house and leaving my work, I used to run away from Mughal Sarai to Prakash Talkies in Banaras to watch Devanand's films. The intoxication brought me to Bombay. I reached Chetan Anand's office to meet Dev Saheb, he asked what work do you do? I said - I only know how to drive, I will drive your car so that I can go to meet him. Everyone started laughing. The job was confirmed. I started living in his bungalow and started going to meet Dev Anand many times. But in Bollywood, it is not what you have come to do, everything is different. During this time, I became friends with Babubhai Thiba and became the secretary. Became a secretary of many actors and kept getting them work."

Among the good memories of Amarjeet Singh is the role of Ramola in Sudha Chandran's TV serial. He has many stories related to this with Sudha Chandran. He also misses Raju Srivastava a lot. He has a very cordial relationship with Salman Khan "but not commercial... there is a reason for this." He smiles. He keeps Kishori Shahane and Sangeeta Tiwari in the category of good artists. "I have had a long relationship with many artists." He says - "Worked with everyone like Himani Shivpuri, Neena Kulkarni, and Tejaswini Kolhapure. I have been associated with Sangeeta Tiwari for fifteen years and I call her 'Goddess Sangeeta Tiwari'. Naveen Nischol, Satish Kaushik, Sudha Chandran, Kishori Shahane, and Sangeeta Tiwari I have had a relationship with all of them for years, 15-20 years, which is not business but domestic."

It is worth noting that Amarjeet Singh's sons have also been associated with films. His younger son Master Rinku (Rahul Singh) worked in 95 films, all of them big setup films. Now he is settled abroad. Similarly, elder son Lovely Singh started his career as an assistant director with Satish Kaushik and directed the film 'Kya Love Story Hai' (Tusshar Kapoor, Kareena, and Ayesha Takia). "I am happy. The industry has given me a lot. It has given me good friends. I have friends like Ashok Shekhar - I feel uneasy if I don't meet him. This is what any artist secretary needs, which I have."

-Sharad Rai

Tags: Birth Anniversary

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