A very happy birthday shamji ( sham kaushal)

Ali Peter John

I would like to believe that Bombay ( I don't no why there was a need to change the name of god's favourite city ) is a very beautiful but invisible hostess who welcomed everyone into her arms without any consideration of any kind , with no questions asked about class , creed or community and a hostess who doesn't know the difference between an insider and an outsider , a rich man or a poor man , if you ask me , I think that the city is more partial to the outsider than the insider .

And I have several reasons to believe what I say and some of the best reasons are to be found in the industry to which I have belong for fifty long years . And today I tell you the extraordinary story of a man who came to this city of dreams with nothing but his dreams and who has grown into a legend in the field he chose to be a part of more than forty years ago .His name is now a name thousands of people swear by and respect , a humble as humble can be great man called Sham Kaushal.

Sham was a young man from Hoshiarpur in Punjab and had done his M.A in English Literature and he had no big dreams to fulfil when he took the train to Bombay . All he wanted was any job that would give him a reason to live a life of dignity and something that would make his father feel proud .

He did some small jobs to keep himself going and kept looking for better avenues even while he lived in shanties in the suburbs of the city which he gradually realised was a very exciting and inspiring city but only for those who had the courage to persist and pursue their ambitions without even remotely letting the thought of giving up coming anywhere near them .

His destiny was guiding him and leading him without his being aware of what God ( the one powerful force that he has always clung to with the kind of faith that is difficult to believe for even the most devout followers of God ) .

He was living with some friends who were stuntmen working in films and he realised that he could make a living by joining them . He not only joined them but become a force to reckon with when he was asked to be the action director of a Malayalam film called " Indrajalam " which had Mohanlaal in the lead role .

What followed was a life. : changing chance to direct the action sequences of" Prahaar " the film with which Nana Patekar made his debut as a director . He met with a near fatal accident during the shooting of the film which kept him out of action for months , but the man anointed by God bounced back with double the energy and full of enthusiasm to challenge himself and then there was just no stopping him .

Today , more than thirty years after he started his career as an action director , Sham Kaushal is right there where not everyone and anyone can reach . He has achieved what very few can. He is now a name known both nationally and internationally . He has won more awards than any other action director before him has . He has worked wonders on the action sequences of every big and ambitious films being made during the last two decades .

Some of the best directors in the country have shown their faith in him and he has lived up to their faith in a better way than they have expected him to . He has worked with every kind of films , from the likes of "Dangal " "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" and "Student Of The Year " to films like a "Wednesday" , "Black Friday", "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" and "Mirzapur" . He has worked with three generations of male and female actors and he has worked with two generations of directors , like he is now shooting in Kolkata with Deeya, the daughter of Sujoy Gosh who he had worked with in the "Kahaani" franchise .

And to add to the many feathers in his cap , he has also worked in films made in major languages in the country , like he has just completed a major schedule of the Telugu film , "Wild Dog ". which is his first outing with the Telugu superstar Nagarjuna .

And to add to all the reasons for his being grateful to God is his being the father of Vicky Kaushal who is already a star - actor aiming for the sky of success and sure of reaching there, His other son , Sunny Kaushal is also on the threshold of stardom . Shamji doesn't take any credit for the success of his sons and believes that they will make it if they are good and especially if they are good human beings .

And if there is one inspiring light behind the success of Sham Kaushal , it is his simple and dedicated wife Veena who has stood by him and the family through all the ups and the few downs .

And ask the ever so successful Shamji what the reason for his success is , he folds his hands ,looks up at the sky and utters his three humble but most powerful words , " GOD IS KIND "

IF THERE IS ONE MAN WHO DESERVES MORE AND MORE SUCCESS FOR HIMSELF AND FOR HIS SONS , IT IS THIS MAN , SHAM KAUSHAL WHO SUCCESS CANNOT SPOIL BUT ONLY MAKE STRONGER AND MORE HELPFUL TO OTHERS IN THE INDUSTRY, COUNTRY , HOSHIARPUR AND THE WORLD .