Bhumika Chawla on Satish Kaushik's birth anniversary: Don't think I ever saw him without smile

New Delhi: Always happy and smiling... That's how actor Bhumika Chawla remembers her "Tere Naam" director Satish Kaushik, who would have turned 67 on Thursday.

Kaushik directed Chawla and superstar Salman Khan in the 2003 hit Hindi romance drama "Tere Naam". The filmmaker died on March 9 after a heart attack on his way to a hospital in Gurugram.

Chawla said she was in touch with the filmmaker, who wanted to collaborate with her on another film.

"He was always such a happy person. I don't think I ever saw him without a smile. I don't think anyone ever saw him feeling low, sad or upset. We used to meet on and off. I was in touch with him. He always used to say, 'we have to do a film together'. He would say, 'I really want to work with you'... " the 44-year-old actor told PTI in an interview.

Chawla said Kaushik's death was "unfortunate" and made her realise that one should not take things for granted.

"Life is like a bubble. You're here, in one moment you're gone. Make the most of what you have, don't take things too seriously and for the youngsters, don't take your success too seriously, it doesn't work because you are leaving everything behind and going," she added.

The actor further said Kaushik had narrated a script to her a year and a half ago around the release of his directorial "Kaagaz", starring Pankaj Tripathi.

"He narrated the script to me and he wanted to do that film (with me as an actor). We wanted to do that together. In fact, we were, at some point of time, thinking of collaborating as producers (too)," she said.

“Tera Naam” was the remake of South star Vikram’s Tamil film “Sethu” (1999). The Hindi version upon its release in August 2003, opened well at the box-office success courtesy its chartbuster soundtrack with songs such as "Tere Naam", "Lagan Lagi", "Kyun Kisi Ko", "Tumse Milna", and "Odhni".

In 2019, Kaushik had told PTI that he had started working on the sequel of "Tere Naam" but was yet to discuss the idea with Salman.

Chawla will next be seen in "Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan", fronted by Salman. Directed by Farhad Samji, the family entertainer will hit the screens on Eid.