One of the most beautiful compliments Farooque Shaikh receives ahead of his first Smriti Din December 28 comes from close friend Ananth Mahadevan. As he narrates the multiple virtues that came together in one personality,Mahadevan says Shaikh Sahabwas "not real".

"Not a day has passed that I have not remembered Farooque Sahab with a pang. In fact I don't remember my own aunt who raised me like a mother so often. This man is haunting me. I get restless when I pass by the kabrastan at Four Bungalows where he rests. That is why I went cold when you asked if I would speak about him. This is the least I can do for him," Mahadevan says. He had directed Shaikh in two television serials, 'Chamatkar' and 'Alvida Darling'.

As if by serendipity, the two often happened to meet at book stalls. "Either we met in the airport book shop or at Strand Bookstore," Mahadevan recalls.

Then he says, "Farooque Sahab was not real. I consider myself fortunate to have known him since the last 15 years. We made 125 episodes of 'Chamatkar' starting 1999. One day we were shooting on the terrace of Goel Bungalow in Juhu, and although the take was okay, I requested one more. As he performed this shot he fell and broke his arm. We quickly applied an ice pack around the wound and rushed him to a clinic in Lokhandwala Complex in my car. All through the journey he kept apologizing for wetting my car as the ice melted. The doctors had to insert a metal rod in his arm which remained until the end. Can you imagine how guilty I felt? And he was overcome by embarrassment."

Mahadevan learnt so many life lessons from Shaikh. "When I was directing 'Chamatkar' I would become so tense that I would often omit to give the cast a break for lunch. One day Farooque Sahab said to me, 'I am going home'. When I asked why he patiently explained, 'Ananth Sahab, are you hoping to win an Oscar for the serial? Why not relax and take a break?' That put things into perspective for me. What was I hoping to achieve by taking on such high levels of stress?"

Both the actor and his director considered a good script to be paramount to the success of any film or TV serial. "He could have done so much more work but he was choosy. He never fell into the trap of making more money. In fact he travelled so often by taxi and autorickshaw without ever feeling small, without ever feeling that I am a film star so how can I do that," says Mahadevan. "He also had a great sense of humour. Both of us would share a great laugh, often at our own expense. I took it as a compliment if he would laugh at my jokes."

Unlike other actors whom Mahadevan directed, Shaikh was one artiste he constantly remained in touch with. "We exchanged notes, ideas and scripts, and discussed politics. Farooque Sahab was so aware, so critical, of all that was wrong with the system well before candlelight vigils became popular at Ramleela Maidan. He felt a sense of hopelessness and said we must extricate ourselves from the quagmire before it is too late."