Meet star, who earned only Rs 350 from his first job, survived on just one meal a day, now his son is worth Rs 140 crore, his name is…, son is…
GH News July 30, 2025 11:06 AM

Today we will highlight the story of this man whose life was filled with hardships until he became one of Bollywoods most respected action directors. He came to Mumbai with just Rs 3000 in his pocket borrowed by his father and had a single goal to just repay the debt. His first job paid him just Rs 350 and was barely left with any money for meals. Well Misal pav and batata vada became his survival foods and had some money left to smoke bidis. Well the man was Sham Kaushal. Today his son Vicky Kaushal has become one of the most prominent actors in Bollywood.
Originally aspiring to be a lecturer after completing his Masters in English Literature Kaushals plans got faded due to financial distress. In 1978 he relocated to Mumbai from Punjab. He secured a job in sales for Rs 350 a month. His daily routine to commute through buses and trains would unfortunately leave him with just Rs 1 for both lunch and dinner. He often used to settle for misal pav and batata vada priced at just few money. Cigarettes were out of reach; so he survived on just ten-paise bidis instead.
Sham Kaushals journey into films
Sham Kaushals path shifted when some Punjab acquaintances who worked as stuntmen encouraged him to join their union for Rs 1000. This led to him grabbing further opportunities in the film industry. Soon he was hired by Ajay Devgns father Veeru Devgan who was a well-know action director. He started as a helper serving tea and carrying bags eventually choregraphing fight sequences allowing him to earn some good money.
Battle with Cancer
Later he was trained under another famous stunt director Pappu Verma. He began working regularly and received his first break with Sunny Deols Betaab where his performance earned him Rs 500. At the beginning of his career another tragedy stuck in Kaushals life when he was diagnosed with cancer. As devastated after hearing this he briefly considered to end his life. He decided to tell no one in the industry fearing it would end his career. After several surgeries the cancer didnt spread and he survived.
Two decades later Sham Kaushals journey came full circle. Today he is the proud father of two Bollywood actors- Vicky Kaushal and Sunny Kaushal. His son Vicky is married to Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif. He is one of Bollywoods most bankable stars with reported new worth that sits around Rs 140 crore.