Vicky Kaushal, who is currently promoting his upcoming film Bad Newz, recently recalled his father, action director Sham Kaushal’s struggles in Punjab before he moved to Mumbai and how he had even contemplated killing himself once because he was jobless.

While appearing at Raj Shamani’s podcast, Vicky spoke about how his parents were content with him having a normal 9 to 5 job. “My parents were very happy with the idea of me having a regular  job. My grandfather had a small grocery shop in our village in Punjab. That’s where my parents are from. Dad came to Mumbai in 1978. He had an MA in English literature, but he was still jobless. We had no land back there (in Punjab). One day, after drinking with his friends, he declared that he wants to die. My grandfather became very concerned, so he sent him to Mumbai with a friend.”

Vicky added, “In Mumbai, my dad was willing to work as a sweeper even, because he knew that nobody in the village would get to know. My dad’s youth was full of struggles. There’s no job security in this field. While you’re working on one project, you’re wondering if you’ll find something else next. My family was genuinely very happy that finally someone is going to have a stable income, job security, off days. He (my father) was so happy. He felt like his struggles had finally paid off. But I just knew that I couldn’t do a conventional 9-5 job. I had an offer letter, I’d passed with good marks.. but I knew that I’d become depressed if I went ahead with it.”

Sham Kaushal was a stuntman for years before he got his break as an action director in 1990 for the Malayalam film Indrajaalam. Over the years he has worked as an action director for films like Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Bajirao Mastani (2015), Dunki (2023) and Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1 (2023), among others.