SIMPLE LIFE, COMPLEX STUNTS: THE ‘SHAM KAUSHAL’ ARCHITYPE

Personally, I am more of a Robin person than a Batman fan.

First of all, Robin is middle class. He has learnt his tricks by default, not because he wanted to. He is a sidekick whose sole purpose in life is to fulfill the agenda of others. That’s my type. Also, might be since I spent a substantial share of my childhood in suburban towns, where every winter we waited for the circus to arrive.

Robin learnt his moves at the Circus, remember!

Back then, there were lots of them, with their sprawling tents and disco-lights and the promise of never-before miracle performances. The deluge of electronics and small screens that have taken over our lives now, and that of our children, seemed more like a page out of a sci-fi fantasy. Circus was real.

I loved circus since I loved the acrobatics, the trapeze finale, the cannonball man, and the heady rush of two bikes speeding against each other inside a metal globe – pure indulgence.

I believed in their magical dare.

I sincerely wanted to be like them someday, while also fully aware that I will never have the guts to be so. Much later, I came across the umbrella term ‘stunts’ that encapsulated all of those heady thrills. It was even later that I learnt how big-stars used body-doubles for their action sequences, and the role of a ‘stuntman’ and an ‘action-director’ in cinema.

Hence, when I got the opportunity to interview Sham Kaushal, one of the most prolific Action Directors of all times in Hindi Cinema – imagine my excitement.

It was childhood all over again.

*With Yash Chopra, Sanjay Leela Banshali and Rakesh Roshan*

Sham Kaushal doesn’t come across as much of a ‘action’ guy. Deeply rooted in his practicality and humility – Sham is truly a paradox, considering the body (and quality) of work that he has done in his career, spanning almost four decades now.

You can either take a look at Sham Kaushal’s website to take a glimpse at all the exciting work that he has done as an action director (250+ films) and then go further down, or save that for later – and go with the flow.

Let’s first hear from him how it all begun.

“FOR ME, STUNTS WERE AN INTERIM MEASURE”

When someone becomes a stuntman – it’s usually an act of passion. You have an aim, that you want to become a stuntman.

I, for myself, I didn’t have an aim like that. I just came to the city to find a job, didn’t get anything worthwhile – and then took this up as a medium of survival. I thought the money is better than what I was doing at that point of time, and if I keep working sincerely, I will reach somewhere. So, I got a chance and I became a stuntman.

But not without substantial problems.

First of all, it was a physical job. I was not physically attuned to the job – I was from a village where my father ran a small shop, so my physical endurance abilities was not at par with other ‘stunt’ aspirants. Those who aspire to become a stuntman start running at the age of 17-18 to keep their body flexible. By the time I became a stuntman, I had already completed my masters while still at the village, which means I was already 24 years old.

In the beginning I was not too serious. I thought if I could keep getting some work from this area, it will help me run my expenses. So, it was an interim measure, and I thought I will do something else as and when it develops. There were many benefits, though. When I started getting some work as a stuntman, I started feeling this was a good opportunity. It was honest work, and I didn’t need to invest anything; and then, there was no time-frame as such. If I keep working hard, and learnt the ropes, I could soon become an assistant director. It took me around a year to decide, but after that, I was convinced that this is what I will be doing, at least for the time being.

But yes, once you decide that, it becomes critical that you learn its specifics – since this is a tough job. Then I started learning- kept practicing for a year or so. It wasn’t easy. Sometimes there wasn’t enough to eat, or places to stay. But then, I always thought, you will have to turn your weaknesses into your strength, so I did just that. My weakness was lack of options, lack of money, and I didn’t want to get back to the village, so I just kept on and on. That became my resolve, that this is where I have to stay and grow.

Sham Kaushal’s journey begun from a village in Punjab, around two and a half hours from Ludhiana. He did his masters in English Literature before coming to Bombay in search of work, started working as a stuntman since he found nothing better, and in 30+ years ended up doing 250+ films as an Action Director.

That’s a fairytale; the type with a happy ending .

This so reminds me of my early days in Delhi. Not daring to compare, but I too didn’t have an option or a space to return; but that probably happens to every small-town boy or girl who ventures towards a big city to achieve something. Yes, not everyone becomes Sham Kaushal.

So, what is it that was different about him?

I would say it was his tenacity and resilience that worked for him. And a keen mind, always willing to learn and improve. And a fair bit of good luck. At that point of time, he didn’t know what he wanted out of life. Things moved, and he moved along. Like a ship-wrecked sailor, once he sighted a plank, he grabbed it.

But, to be a stuntman, he had to become what he was not. Or, maybe, he became what he was always supposed to be. Tough to say.

“I STOPPED FEELING AFRAID OF ANYTHING”

To become a stunt-man, you have to go through a general training regime; you have to learn ‘fight’; and how to physically fall and jump – all that. Also, we need to build physical stamina and endurance.

On those days, we also had to jump and fall on trampolines. Then you have to jump from great heights – so you need to be mentally and physically strong. Or you have to put your body on fire. Mental strength is another very critical aspect of becoming a stuntman.

So, there was this space called ‘Amboli’ ground where we used to practice all of this, every evening, under Pappu Verma. Every evening we practiced from 7 PM onwards till 9:30 -10 in the night.

That was when Jackie Shroff had just signed ‘Hero’ – he also used to come to the same ground to practice with us. We practiced together. Sometimes, after the practice, he dropped me down in his motorcycle to the paying guest accommodation where I stayed.

Those were the days.

Somehow, while I continued working, my thoughts also started evolving. I read some good books. There wasn’t much work happening, so I joined a library. I started realizing that mental strength is far more important than physical strength in this arena. So, I turned that into my motivation. I started thinking – as a stuntman I may be physically weak, but my mental strength is far more than the others. I stopped feeling afraid of anything. I felt, if I continued to work, people will notice me, and appreciate me, and that will get me more work and better-quality work.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Let me explain why mental strength matters. For instance, when any stuntman is told to jump from a height, he is just like any other normal guy. If anyone jumps from a height he will fall – right? But if you know the correct technique, and know how to land on a pile of boxes by positioning your legs correctly – you will not feel afraid of the jump.

Similarly, say you have to ‘body-fire’ yourself? You might think that you can put safety -clothes on anyone and set him on fire – but that’s not true. You have to have the mental strength to do that, which comes from knowing the proper technique. You need to know how and when to hold your breath, or if there is a leakage of fire, how to handle that, how to fall with burning clothes and after you fall, how much time will it take to complete the shot and for the fire to subside – there are so many things to consider.

Once into the world of stunts, there was no coming back for Sham Kaushal. He immersed himself completely into the profession, learning its ropes, and earning money in the process.

Yes, earning money was important. He had responsibilities back home which he never forgot. But those were heady days for young Sham Kaushal.

Every day was a new day, a new learning experience.

“I DON’T FIX LONG-TERM TARGETS”

For the first one year I was with Veeru Devgan ji.

But then, as I decided that I will continue to pursue this as my career, I decided to move on to the group of Pappu Verma, who had just become a Stunt Director. So, in terms of inspiration, I learnt my basics from these two stalwarts.

But let me tell you, my greatest inspiration was developing an ability to earn. My father was not keeping well. The fact that I could continue to earn and send back money to my village home inspired me more than anything else. All I wanted was, my father should be happy – that was all; to earn, and to help my family back at home.

That’s me; that’s what I have always been, till this date. I don’t fix long-term targets – just focus on the day’s work, and try to complete it with as much honesty and integrity possible. I don’t think today about what I would be doing two years down the line; never.

In the eighties, I worked as a stuntman in all films in which Pappu Verma was an action director. For instance – Naamo Nishaan, Mard, Do Quidi, Jaljala, Jaan ki Baazi, Tejaa, Agneepath, Ganga Yamuna Saraswati, Yateem, Mera Haque, Allah Rakha – the whole lot.

Since I was educated, loads of people used to tell me why have I got into this kind of a vocation – as this was not considered to be a task for the educated people. I had my own reasons – I never listened to what other people had to say about me. I wanted a vocation that was honest, where I didn’t need to invest money, and where hard-working people have a scope to grow.

All three of them applied here – so this suited me.

The fact that he was well-educated helped. Those days, it was rare to see an educated stuntman, since the vocation was all about physical stamina, agility and mental strength. Sham Kaushal was different – he was also a thinking man.

That might be also the reason why he got his first major Hindi film as an Action Director, in a revenge drama that has been my all-time favorite. Yes, it was Nana Patekar’s Directorial debut – ‘Prahaar’.

But that wasn’t Sham Kaushal’s debut as an action director.

“FOR ‘PRAHAAR’, I LISTENED TO MY HEART”

I have a huge faith in destiny. I was working as a stuntman, but everyone knew I also assisted as an Action Director – so I always thought I will get a break sometime, somehow.

That break was accidental. You won’t believe – one day I was shooting for a Malayalam Film as a stuntman, and on the very next day, I was shooting as the Action Director of that film. They wanted someone new, who could also speak in English – so that opportunity came my way. I still remember, Santosh Sivan was the cinematographer of that film. The same way I met with Nana ji (Nana Patekar) – he also wanted someone new. He too okayed me.

You know, there’s nothing in my behavior or approach that’s like an Action Director. I am a simple person with simple tastes – and that reflects in the way I interact with people. It’s not that because I am an action director, I should change the way I walk, or change my food-habits – no sir. I will remain honest to my ‘real’ self always, and stay natural.

I think that’s what reflected in ‘Prahaar’.

Nana Patekar gave me the brief that he wants realistic action. I decided to follow the route that my thoughts have defined for me.

See, you can either choose to do the same kind of action that others are doing, which is also performing quite well. On the other hand, you can stop and think for a while – listening to your heart. I did the latter. I thought, whatever I might do should look and feel believable – it should not look like a fantasy.

All of this was churning in my mind when I was designing those action-sequences for ‘Prahaar. See what happens is – if you are planning to do something that is different from the lot, you will either gather lots of appreciation, or be completely ousted from the market. Either way, you will not be standing in the crowd any more, but you should be willing to take that risk.

So, for Prahaar, I listened to my heart and designed ‘action’ sequences that would look realistic on-screen, and it worked. I got my recognition from that film.

Saw this in a movie theater, and I still remember the sound of bones cracking. The sound design was probably part of the ‘realism’ game plan.

Now for a flash-forward.

Being a professional writer, I am a bit of a stickler for ‘process’ and ‘sequence’ of events. I like to know how things happen from the scratch – and how they move on.

That’s why I asked Sham Kaushal to give me an overview of what happens, step by step – from when a film comes to him. For anyone who wants to enter this heady, enticing world of ‘action’ in cinema, this might help. Even otherwise, this is exciting.

“I SEE THINGS THAT OTHERS MIGHT HAVE MISSED”

At the initial stages, through a few meetings, we figure out what kind of film it is, how much work is there, how much time I need to give to the project – all this. Once we are clear on the financial logistics – then the creative process begins.

During the creative process, I mostly leave it on the director. In the sense, either I read the script first and then the director gives me the narration. Mostly, it’s the other way round, where the director first explains things verbally, and then gives me the script. After I read the script, we have a general meeting about the action sequences – like how is he visualizing things, what is his perspective on the style of action and all that.

After that, I take time to work on it – like determining what all can I offer as a professional to fulfill his vision, and maybe add something extra to it, or add some perspective to it.

Since I look at the ‘situations’ depicted in the script with my professional expertise – I see things that others might have missed. So, what value can I add? Is there another way to depict the ‘action’ so that it becomes more interesting?

That apart, in today’s date, you have to also keep in mind the ‘premise’ of the story, also its ‘characterizations’- you can’t expect to see the action-stylization of ‘Kriss’ in ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ – right. ‘Kriss’ is a larger-than-life story with larger-than-life characters while ‘Gangs of Wasseypur is more ‘realistic’ – so the action has to be kept within that ‘zone’.

So, once I study the actions, I sit with the director for a couple of meetings and ‘lock’ the action sequences. Then I create storyboards for each action sequence – to understand it’s execution.

Say if you look at any action-sequence, we need to magnify each character from a distance-perspective – and also from a camera-angle and placement perspective. When you are doing this, you are actually, in your mind’s eye, ‘seeing’ those sequences.

To cite a simpler example, if you are planning a travel from one place to another, you get ‘images’ in your head about the plan – that you will go from here to there, and you will stop here and all that; similarly, while planning sequences, you ‘see’ similar images in your head. So here, what I see, I sit with the storyboard artist, and convert that into a storyboard.

Sometimes, with my team, I do dress-rehearsals of fight sequences, using a smaller camera. We also edit it to understand how the final output will look like.

So, when this final storyboard is ready – it gets shared with various departments – like Art, Costume etc. This is to facilitate them to make their requirement lists. You can understand, this becomes an even more critical exercise if this is a period film. At this stage, we sometimes do rehearsals involving extras – to make everything clear.

The storyboard is also shared with the DOP – who comes up with his own suggestions from his own area of expertise. So how can we make this even better, in terms of lighting, camera angles – how to enhance the value of the sequence. Even the Production Design team, they have their own suggestions that helps make the sequence better.

Overall, it is a team-work.

All departments come together and contribute little things, that improves the aesthetics of the whole project.

Then comes shooting. Here, it’s your responsibility to execute the plan, and get the sequence done – that you have designed. It’s you who have to direct the actors, get rehearsals done till it’s perfect, also look at the safety aspect of it. If there is VFX involved in the stunt, you take help from specialized teams that understand those technicalities.

In a nutshell, the execution of the ‘action’ sequences remains your responsibility – which includes editing. On principle, I don’t go and sit with the editor. I give them time to understand the sequence, also brief them about what was in my head when we shot the sequence – and ask him to do the first-cut. They are specialists in their own area – they too have a different way of looking at things. They do small things to change the texture of the sequence completely.

That’s a pretty much extensive lowdown.

If and when I am in Mumbai, I will ask Sham for some of his storyboards, and share them with you. I have never seen action-only storyboards earlier – so it will be a learning exercise for me too.

And of course, he doesn’t do all of this alone.

He has a dedicated team of experienced professionals to help him reach his objectives; some of them have been working with him for decades. Not every film requires a huge team – so he has a core team, and hires others as and when they are required.

“IT BECOMES A FAMILY, A TEAM”

All junior stuntmen are members of our union – ‘Movie Stunt Artists Association’. There are only two types of members there – Action Directors and Stuntmen. Stuntmen, if they get a chance, can become Action Directors or Stunt Directors after working for a minimum eight to ten years.

So first of all, we hire people on the basis of the sequence – depending on how many people we need. Over a period of time, some members of this association get connected to you permanently. With those people, you start understanding their strengths and weaknesses, they start understanding your perspective and know your mindset – they understand what you want. So, it becomes a family – a team. So however, or whatever the film might be, the basic team remains the same.

In case the job requires special sequences – like car chase sequences, so we hire experts who are good at that; or bike stunt drivers. While the basic team remains the same, we call specialists from the pool of around 600 people, for special sequences, as and when required.

Now about this generic ‘perception’ about action.

Action in cinema is not just about fist-fights or gun-fights between two individuals – it’s anything that involves some kind of risk, or a stunt that’s integrated with the storyline. Once we understand this, recognizing and appreciating the multi-faceted role of an action director becomes easier.

Sham Kaushal gives us examples to better understand these nuances.

“ACTION IS NOT JUST ABOUT FIST-FIGHTS”

Look there was a perception till the eighties that the job of the fight-director is to get the ‘fights’ done for the screen. But when the story narratives started changing since mid-eighties, when the typical villain and the typical hero started disappearing, and all those ‘daaku’ films started withering away – the responsibilities of the ‘Action Director’ also stared increasing in the films.

Whatever ‘action’ needed to be done, now needed to follow the narrative and its stylization.

So, the trend arrived – to involve Action Directors in the scripts – right from the beginning of the films. Now your action-design had to follow the ethos of the script. Lots of new things came within the ambit of actions – not just fist-fights. Wherever there was some kind of risk involved – be it something to do with water, or fire, or vehicles like bike and cars, or even horses; anything that involved ‘action’ came within the jurisdiction of the ‘Action Director’. Execution of all of that became your responsibility.

Let me give you some examples.

If you remember the scene of ‘Om Shanti Om’ where the film-set catches fire, where you see Shahrukh and Deepika – there’s no fight involved there, right? But that was one of the toughest sequences that I have ever handled. You can imagine – there are actors on the set, surrounded by blazing fire. To put that set on fire safely and then extinguishing it, with three cameras on set, and over 100 people, along with 60 people from the stunt-team to fire it up and then douse it on time – that is a part of the Action Director’s job.

Also, like in Mani Sir’s ‘Raavan’, when Aishwarya falls on the water from a height and then goes underwater – that’s all the job of an action-director. So where ever there is a little bit of risk – that comes under the job-profile of the action director.

And that last scene of Raavan – the fight over the bridge. Imagine the risk. Although there were cranes holding the actors from both sides – but still, there’s still lots of risk.

Yet, tell me something. It wouldn’t be the same if the actors fought on the ground – right? How did that fight become such an iconic sequence – it’s because of the choice of location and that bridge, which looked so fearsome, where we placed that fight.

There were all sorts of challenges. How to take the actors on that bridge? They can’t just simply walk down that, right? Then my team has to do rehearsals. All sorts of things. Sometimes it does feel like, after the shot, that I will have a heart-attack. Well, the responsibility is on you – right? They have faith on you that he has taken care of the safety measures – so all of that stress needs to be factored in.

It has happened many times that I have cried after completion of such shots – what else can I say?

*On the sets of Ravana, with Mani Ratnam*

Action sequences in period films have always fascinated me – from the childhood recollections of Ben Hur or Braveheart or Lawrence of Arabia, or those edge of the seat Kurosawa and Sergio Leone movies. Period Action is a genre in itself – Troy, 300, Gladiator, The Revenant…or our very own Ashoka, Padmavat, Bajirao Mastani or even Kesari.

I sought this opportunity to ask Sham Kaushal what it takes to design action for period films. My first reaction, it’s far more complicated and involves a delicate balance between various factors, much of which has a propensity to go caput.

You read and decide for yourself.

“SO MUCH CAN GO WRONG IN PERIOD FILMS”

Look, period films have their own unique challenges.

For instance, say you have a ground fight scene, where two-three people are fighting. So, it’s just their personality that is involved there. But if you look at period films, it’s a different ball game. First of all, the costumes used by the characters are not normal costumes. Like period film soldiers – the kind of costumes they wear. That apart, they will surely have weapons in their hands – like swords and spears or bows and arrows. Third factor, they will be on horseback. You just look at the sheer dimensions of the combinations – of all the things that you need to sort out. There are elements like animals, weaponry, costumes – if anyone even has a minor fall with those head-gears on, they will be badly hurt.

As an Action Director, you have to find solutions to all of these problems and more. If any one of these elements malfunction, then you are gone for good. Even the horses have their own costumes and saddles – all of that has to be in sync. Just imagine, if the horse doesn’t do what it is supposed to do, your sequence goes for a toss – and it can even hurt the rider. So many things can go wrong.

All of this has to be synchronized properly, and these things have to be made with all safety aspects in mind.

Like for instance, what we had to do in Bajirao Mastani. For three-four days we had over 300 horses, but they were banging against each other while taking the scene. We have to keep their safety in mind – we need to know how to handle animals. Then those animals have riders over them, how to handle them? Those riders have weapons in their hands – so how should those weapons be, so that even if they hit someone, they shouldn’t hurt them. And those costumes that they are wearing – it should look like they are made of iron, but it should be made of material that’s safe – so that even if they fall, they shouldn’t get hurt.

There are other challenges of handling such a huge ‘army’. See hardly one-third of them are professional stuntmen – since there isn’t that many stuntmen in our industry. Rest of the riders have been taken from among locals in Rajasthan. So how do you motivate them? How do you tell them what to do, and how to keep them in control – so all of this is part and parcel of the Action Director’s job.

On one hand, you are working with the main film team, that consists of 150-200 people. On the other hand, sometimes a situation arrives, that you are working with a team of 500 people, but only 200 among them are professionals.

So that’s where your quality as an Action Director gets tested – how are you dealing with such a situation? How are you bringing everyone and everything together and getting the best results out of it?

That’s what matters, finally.

Now look at this again … and think from an action director’s perspective.

And then, there are films that can be called ‘fantasy’ films – widely. In general, these are sci-fi capers – not many of them in Indian cinema. yet. That genre has never been popular in India, for reasons that are beyond my comprehension. Maybe we need to be bang in the middle of couple of world wars to need that kind of illusions.

The very few that have been attempted in mainstream – with the notable exception of the ‘Krrish’ franchise, are more like, well …

I love sci-fi. It gives me a time-out from reality, and my much-needed what-if fantasies. Some people find respite in family dramas – I find my purgation in alternate universes and time travels and superhero flicks. And I am sure someday a wider section of Indians will align with me, and I will be able to sell my stories and scripts to willing new directors, ready to experiment.

Things are happening, though. In the past 5-6 years, I have seen people attempting sci-fi and superhero films in India as well – with relatively simpler ‘Indianized’ storylines.

That’s quite understandable – one can’t expect a ‘Triangle’ or a ‘Inception’ here, yet.

Anyways, I am getting way diverted. Let’s get back to the point.

Sham Kaushal was the Action Director of Krrish.

“FANTASY FILMS NEED DIFFERENT LOGISTICS”

Take Krrish, for instance.

The character had to jump a lot, hence there were lots of rehearsals and training to carry that proper body-language. There were training with harnesses.

Then how do you achieve such huge jumps? How big will the crane be, and whether that can be placed in the decided shoot location. When the character runs – will there be enough space to show such fast runs.

See when we do these fantasy films, we have to see – to achieve these special action sequences, what all do we need in terms of logistics? Whether it is possible to get those things in that space – and if that is not possible, then how do we achieve it?

So, every sequence throws a challenge, and you have to find solutions on the go, sometimes on the spot.

If you take Dhoom 3, and remember the sequence where Aamir climbs up a wall by running – that is where camera angle plays a definitive role. You sit with the DoP and decide on it, together. There are a whole lot of things that we shoot using a green screen, and also work in close collaboration with the VFX team. Everyone is involved.

See, film-making is not a ‘individual’ type of job – it’s always teamwork. Even if I am the Action Director, I have to completely depend on my team. Hence all departments have to come together. With a single objective, and motivation – how we can make it better!

Basically, action has to be story driven. When I am reading the story of Krrish, I start connecting with the character, and start thinking from his perspective. Similarly, when I am reading the story of ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, so how is the character, where is the story located, and all that, keeps coming to my mind.

I get into my characters, and start thinking from their ‘mind’.

Let me explain. See, an actor does a positive role in a film, and in the very next film he is doing a negative role, then he plays a young man, immediately followed by the role of an old man. Each time, his body-language, way-of-thinking, becomes like the character.

Same stands true for me.

People often ask me; how do I handle multiple projects at the same time. Well, I don’t actually do that. I handle one project at a time. Say if I have to think of one film today for four-five hours, or read a script, during that time span I will not think about anything else. I will involve myself completely into that project.

So, when I read the ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ script, I started getting involved with the characters, kept thinking about their premise and circumstances – eventually their world became my world. That apart, the director also has lived with the script for some time, he also gives a briefing. Once you are into that plane, solutions start presenting themselves.

*Sham Kaushal has done quite a few unusual action flicks too.*

Considering Sham Kaushal’s wide repertoire of ‘genre’ films – I moved on to sports. He has done quite a few of them, including blockbusters like ‘Chak De India’ and ‘Dangal’. He also designed that goosebumps ‘cliffhanger’ scene for the ‘Lakshya’ climax.

Where these films stand out is their ‘detailing’ – the scenes feel credible and true-to-life, in sync with the sports it represents. Sham, in his characteristic humility, mentions that it’s not entirely his doing – this ‘authenticity’.

“SHOULD BE REALISTIC TO THE CORE”

First of all, you need to be honest with the story.

When I was told the story of Dangal, I realized, whatever will be visible on the film should be visibly honest. This was not an over-the-top fantasy sports film. It’s a grounded story, connected to people. The action will also have to follow that disposition. No one should feel cheated when they see the action.

It has to be shot in a manner that resembles actual people seeing the action – not overtly dramatized like typical action sequences, it should be realistic to the core.

There should be no need to hide the faces of the characters in films like these. If they are doing the action themselves, only then it would feel authentic. The girls trained a lot to bring those characters to life, and reached a certain level. Aamir Khan also took training. Also, the opponents that were fighting against them were real wrestlers from other nations, national level players.

Also look at the shooting style. Not for one moment it seems like that we have tried to underline something forcibly – or that we have tried to ‘cheat’ in some way. If there is one word to describe the camera style here it would be ‘simplicity’. I always believe that if the technicians are honest in their work, it is bound to reach the people. That’s what makes it realistic.

See, whenever we do a Sports film or an Army film – we always hire an expert on the subject. We know how to tell a story, we also know how to infuse emotions in the storyline – but we will not be aware of the nitty-gritty of the sports, right?

Like what I also did ‘Chak De India’. Same process.

So, the details of the sports, the body-language of the sportsmen in those particular sports discipline – that needs a different kind of expertise. We can explain to them what all we need from a particular action scene, maybe also the kind of punches we need. Then they will guide us towards what to do to make it feel authentic.

Like we had Kripa Shankar ji for Dangal – India’s national coach for wrestling. He is the one who trained the girls. He followed the storyline, understood our ‘action’ requirements and told us what to do. Sometimes, we told him that we need this to make it more cinematic, but he took care that it looked real even while following our requirements.

Even for ‘Laksh’, we hired a professional team. Since we don’t know mountaineering, but we understand cinema, and we know what we want from our scene. As an Action Director, I might not be able to make a car somersault, but there are stunt drivers who can do that. My job is to use his expertise, and integrate his skills with my skills to give the director the scene he wants.

So, we always have the ‘domain’ expert; also, in army films.

Whenever we have to do an army film, we keep an expert, and set up boot-camps where the experts train the actors – this is how you need to hold the gun, etc. These experts are with us also during the shoots, so that we do not go wrong anywhere. Like Jaspal ji was with us during the entire shoot of Dangal. For us the shot seems fine, but for him it might not be, he might have something to say about the positioning of the hands or the grip or the body-language during matches.

I have to repeat here – there’s no ego involved in this teamwork. All of us have only one objective – to give our best to make a good film that entertains the audience. That’s all.

Have you guys seen Marvel’s ‘Daredevil’?

For those who haven’t – it’s a superhero show about a blind lawyer who fights the mafia and other wrong-doers as a vigilante. He has no superpowers – just heightened instincts, a keen hearing ability, and a training in martial arts.

I don’t know if the idea of Daredevil inspired producer Rakesh Roshan and Director Sanjay Gupta to come up with the idea of ‘Kaabil’ – but when I saw the film, back in 2017, I did find some striking similarities.

Sham Kaushal did the action sequences for the blind man which Ritwik Roshan played in ‘Kaabil’. Was it simple? What were the challenges? How were they met?

“IT WASN’T EASY TO ACHIEVE KAABIL”

In films like Kaabil, it takes a lot of time to design the action. See, you can’t interpose the action movements of a person that can see into a character that is blind. What’s his psychology; they too are surviving, right?

His movements will be different, his sense perceptions will be different – we will need to capture those sensibilities.

They have a sixth-sense, now what is that?

The things that do not register to the sense perceptions of normal people – these people with physical deformities can perhaps perceive those things – with a far more acute sixth sense. Say someone has lost his hands, he will now learn how to do everything with his legs, right? People do and find things in order to survive.

So, to be truthful to the character with deformities, we have to first study what’s ‘different’ and what’s ‘extra’ in the character – within the given situations in the script?

We have to reach his mental state; then we have to see how he turns the weaknesses of others into his own strength; then we put in small things in the ‘atmosphere’ of the character that helps him reach his goal, but without underlining it, and making it obvious for the viewers. It should seem like occurring naturally, or it’s there by accident – a ‘property’, or something he can use.

In ‘Kaabil’ – there isn’t anything that seems un-natural in the action sequences, but it wasn’t easy to achieve that. More than shooting, we have to brainstorm a lot. That takes a lot of time.

First, we had to design the sequences. Say the blind person puts his hands on something that helps him – it should not seem that we have put that thing there for shooting, to help him. It should integrate with the atmosphere of the scene, right?

There are so many small details in Kaabil, like that fight scene in the terrace, all of that had to be pre-planned meticulously.

Interesting … a promo of action-making without the interview of the action-director. But he is everywhere anyways.

Starting way back in the early 80’s – it’s been a long journey for Sham Kaushal. He has gathered experiences on the way, and adapted to change in order to survive. Not just that, being a future-ready person, he has anticipated changes, kept his research always updated, prepared for what could possibly come to him, and aligned himself to the ever-evolving requirements of the industry.

And all of this with a monk like stoicism – a casual approach, but don’t be fooled by that. Deep inside, he is pining for more. He will always be pining for more.

His enthusiasm for ‘action’ is contagious, I must give him that.

“CHANGE WILL ALWAYS BE FOR THE BETTER”

See, change is the law of nature. Take anything, changes will arrive in the field of technology, and it will always be for the better. Thirty years back, take any field – landline phones have changed to mobiles; during the early eighties, only a few people had TV sets, now people are moving around with TV in their mobile handsets – correct? From letters to e-mail, from on-site work to work-from-home – everything changes.

When I came to Mumbai, one letter used to arrive in every 15 days, and I responded back. Now I do video-calls with my relatives in Punjab.

Similarly, changes will keep coming, even in the film-line. Action Direction has transformed world-over. Whatever we might say is the ‘latest’ today, twenty years down the line it won’t stay latest any more – right?

For instance, today, we can achieve almost everything in terms of stunt. The riskiest of shots can be taken using technology. We do one layer with the actor, and then take it to VFX, and other layers – we can use multiple layers to achieve the desired impact. You can shoot in the day, and show it as a night sequence. You can shoot in Mumbai, and on-screen you can show that the backdrop is of America. All for the betterment of the cinematic experience. Today we have good quality equipment that allows us to do stunts safely with any actor. In today’s date, the work of a ‘duplicate’ is minimal. We have harnesses, we have wires and other accessories, we can make them jump from any height safely, they can do acrobatics and mid-air turns safely – all of this is for the betterment of the action-scene.

Only thing is, as an action director, whatever latest changes are occurring and arriving within your domain – you have to keep learning them rigorously, as a student. You have to keep yourself updated to all the new things coming.

We spoke for over an hour, and yet, I was left unsatisfied.

The way he explains things is fascinating, and that too without much of a preparation. Now that can only happen when you are in deep love with what you do – and ready to do anything to keep that ‘love’ alive.

More than his achievements, I found his personality captivating.

Which leads me to my final question. I asked Sham Kaushal – how would you like people to remember you? Do you have any un-fulfilled dreams?

“MY LEGACY IS MY POSITIVITY”

My dreams were always very simple and small. I would say I have got much more than what I had expected or deserved from life – so I have no unfulfilled dreams as such. I am more than happy.

Having said that, I would like people to remember one thing about me. It’s not that I have done anything earth-shattering in terms of stunts, but there’s a certain quantum of positivity around me, that I would consider my legacy.

A boy who came from a village, whose parents were illiterate – if he can come here, work as a stuntman and then Action Director and reach a certain level of appreciation – I believe this can happen to anybody and everybody. Even if the times seem bleak, and there are hardships One should never get de-moralized; should always have faith, that if we work hard, something positive is going to come out of it.

So, they should look at me and think – if I can do it, they can too. They will definitely do far better than me, they are well educated, today’s generation. All that they need to do is to keep working honestly, and things will happen.

I think I should add here a video that I chanced upon in you tube, of Vicky Kaushal talking about his father Sham Kaushal. Since it’s in a moving train, the audio is nothing to write home about. Nonetheless, it reflects the love and the respect junior Kaushal has about his father – and that’s something I adore.

And here’s a bit of an apology.

I have been lazy with my blogs. There has been work that has kept me busy, but not enough to justify my six months long silence. I don’t know if I have any dedicated readers any more, but I have been seeing people liking my blog on Facebook, on a regular basis.

That’s encouraging, and me being me, I never expected these ramblings of mine to be worth anything at all. Just a diversion. It helps that lots of you out there are thinking the same.

Having said that, I will, from now onwards, write a post every month. Find more interesting people, or maybe look at the making of some films that I found to be interesting.

It’s been a mistake moving out of the domain that gives me real pleasure – but I have learnt from my mistake. At least I hope so. Let’s see.

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4 Comments

Gautam Bandyopadhyay

So interesting, so engrossing… Worth the wait

# 28th May 2022 Reply
- ANIRBAN B
  
  Thanks a lot Gautam. You are too kind, as always.
  
  # 1st June 2022 Reply
Vidhi Mittal

After a long long wait, ‘There Will Be Time’ is back with a bang nothing less than an action sequence in a film that keeps you hooked throughout. From the very first line to the last, this piece is a mix of interesting twists and turns.
So personal yet so well on point always.
Looking forward to more soon.

# 28th May 2022 Reply
- ANIRBAN B
  
  This is so encouraging Vidhi. Thanks. Will try to maintain the momentum this time.
  
  # 1st June 2022 Reply