Most of the millennial audience knows Sham Kaushal as actor Vicky Kaushal’s father. But let us tell you, he is one the most influential personalities in the Indian film action industry. The famous stunt director has worked on several projects like ‘Dangal’, ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘Padmaavat’, ‘Krrish 3’ and more. Now as Kaushal senior completed four decades in the business recently, he opened up on his battle with stomach cancer in 2003 and what made him keep going.
Recalling how he was diagnosed with cancer in September 2003 when sons Vicky Kaushal and Sunny Kaushal were just toddlers, Sham Kaushal said that he had started experiencing pain in his stomach post his return from ‘Lakshya’ shoot in Ladakh. When he visited the Nanavati Hospital, he got to know about the complications. The doctors ended up calling Nana Patekar, who left his shooting in Pune to visit Sham Kaushal in the hospital.
"I was unconscious. There was an infection in my stomach. The doctors had cut out a piece of the stomach and sent it for tests. It was diagnosed as cancer. I was not sure whether I would survive or not. I have not shared this with anyone. I was in the hospital for 50 days. I came back to work after that. They kept testing me for a year. But luckily, the cancer did not spread. It’s been 19 years since that incident,” Sham Kaushal told The Times of India.
He also remembered how he battled the tough times and the people who stood by him. "I thought there’s no chance of me surviving. I had even decided that I would end my life by jumping off the third floor because I couldn’t live like that. But I could not get off the bed because my stomach had been operated on. I told God, 'Please end this. I don’t have any regrets. I came from a small village and by your grace, I lived a good life. If you want to save me, don’t make me weak.' After that, I was at peace.”
Sham Kaushal also revealed how Anurag Kashyap, who was struggling at that time, waited for the stunt director for 50 days to get well and work on ‘Black Friday’. He recalled how Anurag sent him a message on the phone saying that 'only you will do this film and we will wait for it'.
