Satish Kaushik felt suicidal after Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja flopped, started howling in front of Boney Kapoor: ‘Sridevi consoled me’ | Bollywood News

Late actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik came into the limelight after he featured in the role of Calendar in producer Boney Kapoor’s Mr India (1987). While acting was his passion when he entered the film industry, he stumbled upon direction with Boney Kapoor’s Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993). Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja was Boney’s passion project, as he wanted to recreate the magic of Mr India with this film.
Boney even retained the cast and crew of Mr India. Like Mr India, this film was also to be directed Shekhar Kapur and was set to star Mr India’s lead actors – Anil Kapoor and Sridevi. While everything else remained the same, Shekhar ditched the film midway to pursue projects in Hollywood.
This left Satish Kaushik, Shekhar’s assant director, with the reins of the film. Boney Kapoor trusted Satish not only with the film but also with his money. Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja was, in fact, the most expensive film of its time, with a staggering budget of Rs 10 crore. The film, however, proved to be a “disaster,” leaving Boney in deep debt.
Story continues below this ad

Things didn’t go well for Satish either. Newly married at the time, he felt suicidal after his first directorial bombed at the box office. In an earlier interaction with Mumbai Mirror, he expressed the same and said, “I was newly married and even my wife was fed up. If I would have jumped out of the window, nothing would have happened, as I was on the first floor. The dinner table was set on the ground floor. If I had jumped I would have landed on Bhindi Ki Sabzi and people would have made fun of that as well.”
In another interaction with Komal Nahta, Satish Kaushik remembered bawling in front of Boney Kapoor. He said, “Flop is a small word. It was a disaster. I lost my mind. The film had a big hype but it flopped. The film worked only in premieres, the time 9th premier of the film was organised only me, Anil Kapoor and Boney Kapoor were left.”

Talking about how Boney broke the news of the film being a flop, Satish said, “So, we were going for the film’s premier in Hyderabad and I asked Boney, ‘What is the report of the film?’ He said, ‘Satish it is a disaster.’ Then there was silence. I started howling. Sridevi tried to console me. Bony told me, ‘Satish don’t cry. Don’t make me weak.’ I wiped my tears and was ready for the premiere.”
Boney Kapoor took four years to clear his debts. After Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja’s release, Satish Kaushik and Shekhar Kapur’s relationship became sour, and the two didn’t talk for years. However, Boney continued to believe in Satish, and they worked together again, with the actor-filmmaker directing films like Prem (1995) and Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000).