Mandira Bedi’s husband
Raj Kaushal died of cardiac arrest today. As the news broke, Bollywood celebrities took to social media and shared posts in memory of the director and producer. Bombay Times reached out to
Onir, whose first directorial My Brother…Nikhil was co-produced by Raj.
Onir said, “In 2005, we made My Brother…Nikhil. Back then it took time and effort to find someone who would back a film which is set in the backdrop of LGBTQI+. Plus, I was making a debut as a director with this project. It was
Sanjay Suri’s (co-producer and actor) idea to talk to Raj for his support. He was extremely excited about the idea, a subject, that wasn’t explored much then. So he showed support at a time when nobody was willing to and I give him full credit for helping me fulfill my dream of becoming a director.”
The filmmaker liked the not-so-interfering attitude of Raj as they worked on the project. “He is a director-producer and what happens with them is that they like to share their point of view ki yeh scene aise karo, ye waise karo which was not the case with him. He never interfered at all in any of the creative elements of the film apart from supporting it financially as one of the producers to reach our goals. That is the most precious memory I have of his.”
Remembering Raj as a person, Onir shares, “He will always be remembered as someone who was always smiling and making everyone feel like a buddy. I am just shocked that he left us at this very young age.”