This ‘secret superhero’ first salary was Rs 350, wanted to become a college lecturer, was forced to become.., worked with many superstars, his name is…
Sham Kaushal, who rose from a poor family in Mirzapur, a small village in Tanda, Punjab, to become a big action director in Bollywood, is an example for others. Born in 1955, Kaushal’s father, Lala Dharampal, used to run a small grocery shop in the village. Mother Kanta Devi used to take care of the house. Kaushal received his primary education in the village school and studied in the government school Chautala until the tenth standard.
Kaushal, who grew up in extreme poverty under the light of a lantern, graduated in 1975 by securing first position from Government College Tanda. He obtained a post-graduation in English from Government College, Hoshiarpur. Talking to Bhaskar, Kaushal said that one had to cross the Hoshiarpur Barsaati Cho at that time. “After MA English, I wanted to become a college lecturer, but could not afford to study MPhil at Punjab University, Chandigarh. So I kept looking for a job for a year but failed,” said Sham Kaushal.
Meanwhile, his friend and classmate Satpal, who had come from Bombay, advised him to go to Mumbai and try his luck for a job. During his early days, Sham borrowed Rs 3000 at 5% interest from his father and went to Mumbai in 1978. Here he got a job as a salesman at a salary of 350 rupees per month.
“There was no place to live, so I would sleep in the office after duty. After a year, I repaid my loan and came back to my village,” said Sham. He went back to Mumbai, resigned from his job, and decided to do his own work. The Punjabi boys living with him advised him to become a stuntman. Seeing work without investment, he decided to try his luck. He took training and became a stuntman in 1980. He has also worked in Hollywood.
Sham Kaushal says that he was doing good work as a stuntman. During this time, seeing his work, Nana Patekar gave him the first break as an action director in his film Prahaar, and with this, his new career started. Kaushal bought a small house in 1986 and then got married in Pandori Bava Das near his village in Punjab without a baraat and dowry.
Only the brother and father were present in the wedding procession. There are two sons. Elder son Vicky Kaushal, after engineering, has worked in award-winning films like Masaan and is working with directors like Raj Kumar Hirani in the future too. Younger son Sunny Kaushal has entered the film industry after completing B.Com. His younger brother and cousin run a shop in Punjab.
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