Stunt director Sham Kaushal recently spoke about the time he was diagnosed with cancer in September 2003. In a recent interview, Kaushal recalled how after returning from Ladakh after wrapping the schedule for Lakshya (2004), he started experiencing pain in his stomach.

He underwent an operation and had many complications. Kaushal had previously visited the hospital for his appendix problem with actor Nana Patekar. So the doctors called Patekar, who left his shooting in Pune to visit Kaushal in the hospital.

In an interview with a leading portal, he recalled, “I was unconscious. The doctors had cut out a piece of the stomach and sent it for tests. It was diagnosed as cancer. I was not sure whether I would survive or not. I have not shared this with anyone. I was in the hospital for 50 days. Luckily, the cancer did not spread. It’s been 19 years since that incident.”

Kaushal had even signed a film before his diagnosis. He said, “I thought there’s no chance of me surviving. I had even decided that I would end my life by jumping off the third floor because I couldn’t live like that. But I could not get off the bed because my stomach had been operated on. I told God, ‘Please end this. I don’t have any regrets. I came from a small village and by your grace, I lived a good life. If you want to save me, don’t make me weak’.”

He revealed that the film was Black Friday (2007). Kaushal spoke about how the film’s director, Anurag Kashyap, who was struggling at that time, sent him a message which read: “Only you will do this film and we will wait for it.”

Once he returned from the hospital after 50 days, he completed the movie.