Sham Kaushal says fire scene in Om Shanti Om almost gave him a heart attack; reveals SRK’s reaction: ‘Tension na le, main aisa nikal jaunga…’

Sham Kaushal recently shared how he felt like he was going to suffer a heart attack while filming the fire scene with Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om.

By: Entertainment Desk

Bengaluru | November 11, 2024 07:56 PM IST

2 min read

Sham Kaushal recalled how Om Shanti Om's fire scene was done live as VFX was not so popular then.

Veteran action director Sham Kaushal has crafted numerous high-energy sequences over his decades-long film career. In a recent interview, Sham, who is also actor Vicky Kaushal’s father, recalled working with Shah Rukh Khan on Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om (2007) and shared that the fire scene in it nearly gave him a heart attack.

When asked, during a chat with Friday Talkies, about the most challenging sequences that required extensive preparation, Sham said, “Honestly, bataun aisa easy toh kuch bhi nahi hota hai. Mai har din dara hua hin set pe jata hun ki sab tik se ho jaaye. (There’s nothing that’s easy. Every day, I go to the set with a sense of fear, hoping that everything goes smoothly).”

Also read | Sham Kaushal says people would offer son Vicky tea but not roles; recalls him facing humiliation during auditions: ‘Iska ka kya audition lena’

Sham Kaushal, however, pointed out that the fire scene in Om Shanti Om was particularly challenging. Describing the sequence, he stated that it was extremely strenuous. He mentioned that back then, VFX technology was not very advanced and so he and his team had to use live fire on set, with three cameras and 60 team members working inside.

Sham Kaushal shared in Hindi that they had to be extremely precise with the timing of lighting and then extinguishing the fire, as even a one- or two-second delay could have been dangerous. He added that those 4-5 days of shooting, which was mostly done using live fire, were incredibly difficult. He also confessed that after completing the shoot, he went to a corner and cried. “These are the moments that kill you and you feel like you’re going to suffer a heart attack. I end up breaking down at times,” he shared.

Sham nonetheless mentioned that, even amidst such a tense situation, Shah Rukh was very relaxed about the shoot and would say, “Paaji tension na le, main aisa nikal jaunga (Paaji, don’t be tensed. I will come out like this).” Sham Kaushal as been an action director for over 40 years.

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