Sham Kaushal
, a seasoned
action director
boasts a long-standing career in the film industry, having weathered its various challenges and triumphs. Reflecting on his journey, he recently shared anecdotes of moments fraught with risk during his tenure as both a stuntman and an action director. Recounting instances where he sensed he was pushing boundaries too far, Sham confessed to experiencing bouts of anxiety, even likening the intensity of certain stunts to the threat of a potential heart attack.
In a conversation with Komal Nahta, Sham Kaushal reminisced about executing one of the most daunting stunts of his career, describing it as a moment etched with fear and adrenaline. He said, “I was doing a stunt where my body was on fire and I had to run and jump into a swimming pool. By the time, I was near the swimming pool, I was really feeling the heat. I had burnt my ears so I jumped into the pool before the mark from where I was originally supposed to jump. I could see the flame above me.”
Shah Rukh Khan’s sister Shehnaz Lalarukh Khan covers face upon being photographed in Mumbai
When questioned about similar experiences during his tenure as an action director, Sham recounted two particularly tense moments from the films ‘Om Shanti Om’ and ‘
Raavan
’, where he grappled with overwhelming stress and pressure.
Reflecting on the fiery sequence in Farah Khan’s ‘Om Shanti Om’, featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, Sham shared his insights, “In Om Shanti Om, where there is a fire on the film’s set… The actors were on set, there were three cameras, 60 people from my team were also inside. We had to be very particular about the timing of lighting the fire and then dousing it because difference of one second can prove to be dangerous. These are the moments that kill you and you feel like you’re going to suffer a heart attack. I end up breaking down at times.”
He also reminisced about a tense action sequence from Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavan’, which left him equally fraught with stress. “In Mani Ratnam’s film’s climax scene, the bridge collapses and there is a fight sequence on it. We had constructed an actual bridge on the Malshej ghat and there was no way to get to it and the valley was 2000 feet deep.
My stunt team used to first go and rehearse. We would make them wear a harness, drop them on the bridge by a crane, and make them rehearse. They would be brought back and then we would take the actors. These moments… they were killing me.”