“Promise Dad completes my hat trick in international films” – Satish Kaushik

While the world is busy buzzing with the ongoing Cannes Film Festival, and with Bollywood making its presence in the form Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Minissha Lamba, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Shekhar Kapur, we thought we should update you on one more celebrity who’s made his mark this year in Cannes. We’ve loved this man ever since we were kids, and the first thing that comes to my mind is the word ‘Calendar’ from Mr India. Satish Kaushik is one of Indian Film Industry’s veteran actor’s now but it is only when you meet him that you come to know how young at heart he is. At this year’s prestigious Cannes Film Festival, his English film Promise Dad is definitely making some noise. The first look of the film is being unveiled at Cannes. Posters of the film are splashed at the CII Pavilion. This has been the recent trend amongst Indian filmmakers who want to attract a global audience. Last year, UTV had posters of its films like Udaan and Peepli Live followed by Ra.One this year. But the bigger picture will take place at this year’s Toronto Film Festival in September where Satish Kaushik will complete his hat-trick. It all began a few years ago with his film Brick Lane and last year’s Road Movie. Kaushik’s Promise Dad in which he plays the lead role will mark his hat trick of premieres at the Toronto Film Festival. Promise Dad is a very powerful and sensitive story about a Father and Son living in London and their triumph against insurmountable odds. It’s a film revolving around the world of figure skating.

Above all it is a very moving and touching story of a boy (Mark) who fulfils the dreams he had seen with his father. Raman (father) played by Satish Kaushik, is an extremely emotional person by nature and to him his world is his wife and his son. He is shattered when his wife, Patricia, leaves him to be with a successful English businessman. It’s a story about a son’s desire to live and fulfil the desires of his father. Promise Dad is all about being true to oneself. Satish is a well known celebrity in the West now but he disagrees, "No! I am not a well known celebrity in the West. There is a long way to go still. Today when Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan are taking Hollywood by storm, it’s good that the West is taking notice of our acting prowess and that day won’t be far when they take interest in our content driven quality cinema too." He further quotes, "Ritesh Sinha, the director of Promise Dad, is a young Indian director who has tried to make a film that will appeal to the international market and the festivals around the world." Satish says that he has played father’s role umpteen number of times but this one takes the cake, "This is a great role and a dream role for any actor. I play the anchor of the film. The good thing about this role is so natural. Every father has a dream of seeing his son or daughter prosper and make their own name in the world. My role is just that. It’s definitely different from all the father figure roles I’ve played. Promise Dad promises to be one of the most touching tales to come out on the big screen." So where does Bollywood stand when it comes to quality cinema? "Yes, we are missing out of quality since the last year or so. We have great technicians but not enough good story tellers. At the same time, a lot of different cinema or what I call parallel cinema in Hindi is also coming up compared to the big blockbuster commercial cinema which we are used to. But what appeals to the West is our culture and we are the best when it comes to emotions. Our film industry is a combination of both", quotes Kaushik.

As a director too, Satish took a sabbatical. But he is now almost ready with his next directorial venture which he says is an adaptation. "I have adapted a Hindi book for my next directorial venture. Good things will happen soon as I am planning to start shoot by the end of the year or early next year. You will soon hear some announcement. Yes, I am busy doing my research before I start shoot on my next."