Who would have thought that the cherubic kid from Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993) would later helm a rollicking comedy about the misadventures of three friends on their Goa trip, complete with drag, drugs, and enough jokes to leave you in stitches? Actor, writer, director, songwriter, singer—Kunal Kemmu truly wears many hats. After spending a large part of his career being part of cult comedy films like Go Goa Gone (2013) and Golmaal 3 (2010), Kemmu has now embarked on a new journey behind the camera to write and direct Madgaon Express.
Kemmu spoke to Film Companion about growing up on film sets, staying patient in his career and developing a discipline in his craft. Here are edited excerpts from the interview:
You started as a child actor. What got you into acting when you were younger?
I grew up in Srinagar, and both my parents were in the creative field, in the performing arts. I remember when we moved to Mumbai where they were doing a show for DD National called Gul Gulshan Gulfaam (1987), which was being shot in Srinagar. My first appearance on TV was a small cameo in that show, which was accidental because I used to just hang out on the set every now and then. One day Mr Ved Rahi, the director, asked me if I wanted to be in it. I just basically wanted to see myself on television (laughs). But when we came to Mumbai, he was making another show on Doordarshan based on the Amar Chitra Katha stories, which were different episodic stories. My mum was going to be in it and they needed someone to play this kid who lies a lot. They asked my parents if I would do that, they asked me and again, I like the idea of seeing myself on television.
I think a year later, somebody from the casting team of Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke must have seen that and they reached out to my dad and my dad said, “He actually doesn’t really want to be an actor. He was just doing this because he enjoyed it.”
But they insisted because Mahesh Bhatt ji really liked it and they wanted me in the film. I remember I was on my summer vacation in Delhi, and I got this call from dad. I remember watching Dil (1990) on television and my dad said that this film has Aamir Khan and a bunch of kids. My dad asked me, “Would you like to do it? And I just remember thinking that, a) I liked Aamir Khan, and b)This would mean that I could see myself on a big screen in a cinema hall as opposed to just being on TV. I think just because of that, I said yes.