Kunal Khemu
Actor Kunal Khemu talks about his lowest point in his career, and the nature of the lm business which dictates careers.
In the lm industry, ugte suraj ko sab salaam karte hain
Kunal Khemu has been a part of the film business ever since he was a kid, and transitioned successfully into roles as an adult. The Golmaal franchise, Kalyug (2005), Kalank (2019) and most recently, Lootcase (2020) have allowed him to showcase his diversity. But the going certainly must have not been easy for him throughout.
We ask him, and he sums up his 15 years by saying, “Roller coaster is a good way of putting it. I am an adrenaline junkie (laughs) There have been a lot of ups and downs, learnings. You look back and say ‘I have seen it all’ or ‘I need to see some more’. There are beautiful sides to this industry which not everybody knows, which you don’t understand. They seem to be fair, unfair, that’s the nature of the beast.”
The 37-year-old remembers his lowest point so far. “I felt really hollow around 2008-2009. I felt there were things bigger than me, I didn’t know how I would deal to tackle them, or even equipped to deal with them, I felt alone. All of us go through it. I worked really hard,” he says.
“I got a lot of affection, it didn’t put me directly in ranks of someone who lands a Dharma or Yash Raj film. I was a theatre boy, who said it doesn’t matter how big or small a part is, I just believe in the script. I think I was also a bit naïve, and felt I have all the learnings. I did try and do this, and learn on the job, as opposed to being prepared for it. Kalyug, Traffic did really well, Dhol was a box office success, but Superstar was my first flop. I don’t think the fact that it didn’t do well hit me as hard as what came after that, how things changed. In the industry, it depends on the box office you had,” explains Kemmu.
Experiencing a vacuum, where the very same people who flocked to you in good times disappear when there’s a lull, is what Kemmu adds is true. He says, “To a certain extent, depending on who you are, what support system you have in life. I really believe school mein muhaware sikhate the, you find a place and time for them to fit. One of those beautiful things I have heard time and again here is ‘ugte suraj ko sab salaam karte hain’ If something is selling well, everyone wants to associate with that, it’s a business at the end of the day. These are all tough learnings.”