Vicky Kaushal candidly speaks about hardship of his father Sham Kaushal; 'He had an MA in English literature, but he was still jobless'

MUMBAI: Vicky Kaushal highlighted his father Sham Kaushal's difficult upbringing in Punjab and his subsequent success as an action director in Mumbai. Sham battled unemployment and even thought of taking extreme steps. Vicky's grandfather finally moved him to Mumbai so he could start over in the film industry.

Also read: Vicky Kaushal reveals how competitive wife Katrina Kaif is, read on

Vicky stated in an interview with Raj Shamani that his parents were first pleased when he was expected to land a regular 9–5 work, as it would have been the first in the family. However, when he decided to pursue acting instead, his father forewarned him that, due to his limited influence as a technician, he wouldn't be able to assist him much in getting opportunities.

He recalled, “My parents were very happy with the idea of me having a regular job. My grandfather had a small kirane ki dukaan in our village in Punjab. That’s where my parents are from. We had no land back there. Dad came to Mumbai in 1978. He had an MA in English literature, but he was still jobless. 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.”

Vicky recalled that in Mumbai, his dad was willing to take any job, even as a sweeper, because he knew no one from our village would find out and faced tough times with no job security.

“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.”

Vicky said that he isn’t a risk-taker by nature, although he did quit engineering to pursue acting.

“My family was genuinely very happy that finally someone is going to have a stable income, job security, off days… He was so happy. He felt like his struggles had finally paid off. But I just knew that I couldn’t do a conventional job. I had an offer letter, I’d passed out with good marks. But I knew that I’d become depressed if I went ahead with it.”

Sham Kaushal has contributed to a number of highly successful films, such as Padmaavat, Sanju, PK, and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

Also read: Vicky Kaushal, Atlee, Disha Patani groove to Tauba Tauba from Bad Newz at Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant's sangeet

For more news and updates from the world of television, OTT, and movies, stay tuned to TellyChakkar.

Credits – News 18