Action director Sham Kaushal has opened up about a painful chapter from his life — the time he was diagnosed with cancer in 2003. In a recent podcast chat with Aman Aujla, he revealed how the news left him so broken that he considered ending his life.
While shooting for 'Lakshya' in Ladakh, he experienced a sudden stomach pain and was rushed to an army hospital. Despite the health scare, he returned to work on Shyam Benegal’s 'Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose', unaware that his condition was far more serious than anticipated.
Sham revealed that the pain was later diagnosed as cancer. The revelation came after a three-hour surgery, when doctors removed a suspicious growth from his stomach for further testing. The results confirmed it was cancerous. Continuing further he said, “I noticed that people’s reaction towards me had changed. They all seemed extremely worried.” “Apparently, after operating me, they removed something from my stomach which they further sent for testing to check whether it was cancerous. Apparently, it was. After the report came, the doctor shared that I won’t survive,” he added.
He admitted to briefly considering ending his life, not out of despair, but from a sense of resignation. However, confined to bed and unable to move due to post-operative pain."They informed me in the evening, and at night, I had this wild thought of jumping from the third floor of the hospital where my room was situated. I didn’t make the decision out of weakness, but thought when I have to die anyway, why not now? But I couldn’t move due to the pain post-surgery,” he said. What followed was a deeply spiritual moment, a heartfelt plea to a higher power for just ten more years, enough time, he hoped to see his son's grow up. That moment of surrender became a turning point. Over the next year, he underwent multiple surgeries and rigorous testing, but the cancer hadn’t spread. Today it has been 22 years. That phase changed my life… I received good work. My kids have been doing well. I grew in life," he added. He stayed resilient. What he believed were his last days instead marked the beginning of a new chapter.
Kaushal was already an established name in the industry. He had started out as a stuntman before turning independent action director with the 1990 Malayalam film Indrajaalam. Over the years, he went on to design stunts for critically acclaimed films like Gangs of Wasseypur, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Sanju, Tiger Zinda Hai, and the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire. Sham Kaushal is the father of actors Vicky Kaushal and Sunny Kaushal. Vicky is married to actor Katrina Kaif.