It has been years since Kunal Kemmu has been making me swoon over his undeniable charm, but unlike other actors from his generation, he had a little bit of a head start as before making it as a leading man, he floored me over with his roles as a child actor. It literally feels like I have grown up alongside him, thus giving me a deeper connect with the actor. Today, Kunal has the release of his latest web series, Abhay 3, and as I get to converse with him, we first went back a little in time.
Kunal has been a child actor in some memorable films like Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Raja Hindustani, Zakhm and Dushman, amongst many others. I can just never get over the cuteness he exuded in the former, and I must admit, that he still possesses that hold over me.
Talking about his phase as a child actor, Kunal shares,
“Even when I was a child actor, it wasn’t something that my parents ever wanted me to do. I was never told or suggested that I should do it but I saw my parents work as they were actors themselves. Even my first stint was when I went up to the director saying why can’t I do something in this. So, that happened and when Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke was offered to me, my father told the makers that I wasn’t really into acting, and I did my previous work because it was all family and friends. But they wanted me in the film, so I remember even at that age my father coming to tell me that I have got this offer which has Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla in it and asked me if I wanted to do it. It was during my summer vacations and I was watching Dil only, so I thought why not. Being a movie buff, I thought it would be great to see myself in the theatre.”
But having seen the industry and life as a child actor, would he like to see his daughter Inaaya also try her hand in child acting some day? While Kunal doesn’t have an objective answer to it, but he does share his point of view with me.
He says,
“When it comes to Inaaya, as a parent, I want to make sure that she has all the experiences a person should have and has all the available information. I want her to have done a lot more in life to know what all exists, then if she decides to be an actor, a writer, a surfer, diver or whatever she wants to do, wherever her passion lies, I would obviously support her. Maybe she wants to be a sportsman when she grows up. Kuein ka mendhak wala scene nahi hone chahiye that it shouldn’t be the only thing you know and the only thing you do.”
On social media, Kunal, Inaaya and Soha Ali Khan are a riot together and the glimpses that they share from their day-to-day lives are just pure gems. As I ask him about the professional and personal changes fatherhood has brought in him, he gives me quite a sweet reply.
The actor insists,
“Professionally I don’t know, but personally it does change you as a person. It is a responsibility you enjoy, not something that you are trying to run away from as you wanted to create that responsibility for you. There are so many things you do differently because of that. It has definitely made me a calmer person, made me more caring and I want to spend more time with her. It also makes you nervous as I know that I am now responsible for this life and I am supposed to teach her the good and the bad, and the dos and don’ts, but am I actually in that space? It’s a little nerve-wracking in ways. But its’ an organic process and a part of maturing. I have really enjoyed every bit of it and I still continue to enjoy it even today.”
Kunal and Inaaya are really one of the most adorable father-daughter duo in the industry and the affection I see between them on social media just makes me fall in love with them all the more. Inaaya might or might not appear on screen as a child actor, but with parents like Kunal and Soha backing her at every step, I am sure that she is destined for greatness wherever she goes.