Vicky Kaushal’s father Sham Kaushal recalls having his body on fire, nearly suffering heart attack on Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om sets

Sham Kaushal, a renowned action director in Bollywood, spoke about suffering from heart attack while he was shooting for Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om. Vicky Kaushal’s father also recalled the time when his body was on fire. He further spoke about working on Mani Ratnam’s Raavan in a recent interview.

His scariest stunt, body being on fire

While he was talking to Komal Nahta, Sham Kaushal recalled a stunt where his whole body was on fire. He rushed to the nearest swimming pool after burning his ears. “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,” he said.

Heart attack on the sets of Om Shanti Om

When he was shooting for Om Shanti Om, Sham Kaushal almost felt a heart attack coming. This was obviously about the fire scene featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. There was a three-camera setup and 60 people from the action department were on the sets. “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,” he said, pointing out how there could be moments where you could feel a heart attack coming. He also spoke about breaking down on sets.

Another stressful situation

Sham spoke about another stressful situation, which was on Mani Ratnam’s Raavan sets. It was the climax scene, where the bridge collapses. Moreover, there was a fight sequence on the very bridge. “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,” he detailed, adding that his stunt team rehearsed first, after being dropped on the bridge by crane. The team was brought back and then the actors would join. “These moments… they were killing me,” he signed off.

Sham Kaushal, an action director in Bollywood, has worked on many movies and his most memorable collaboration remains with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Sham, father to Vicky and Sunny Kaushal, has completed 40 years in the industry.