Don’t want Inaaya to be scared: Kunal

Actor Kunal Kemmu’s life, nowadays, revolves around watching his daughter Inaaya grow up and spending time with her. One can’t fail to notice the affection in Kunal’s voice as he speaks about the 16-month-old.

“It’s a pleasure everyday to spend time with her. She has just started walking and has learnt a few words as well. She says ‘blue colour’ quite often. I am in awe of my child. [Soha and I] are learning to be parents and she is helping us [do that],” says Kunal, who married actor Soha Ali Khan in January 2015.

And it’s not just Kunal who is smitten by Inaaya; she is also a social media darling. From getting papped wherever she goes to waving at the shutterbugs, the munchkin is as popular as her cousin, Taimur Ali Khan Pataudi, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s son.

Does all this attention ever bother Kunal? “Every parent has the right to bring up their child the way they want to. I think it’s too early for them to get so much exposure but, having said that, it’s not planned by us — it’s just there. As a parent, I don’t want my child to be scared, and cover her face whenever there is a cameraman,” says Kunal, adding that he’d rather have a “cordial relationship” with the paps than let his child get affected.

“I feel lucky that the paparazzi, these days, listen to you. They are everywhere — outside the house, restaurants, parks... I don’t usually upload Inaaya’s photos on social media,” he shares.

Kunal points out that, being a parent, he has adjusted to the paparazzi culture and hopes Inaaya would too. “We have figured out [how] to deal with it. But my child is yet to understand. She eventually will,” he says.

Given the way she has become so camera-friendly, we ask Kunal if people say things like Inaaya will make a good actor, and like a protective father, he says, “It’s too early to talk about such things.”

I think it’s too early for them to get so much exposure but, having said that, it’s not planned by us — it’s just there.

KUNAL KEMMU ACTOR

PHOTO: YOGEN SHAH Inaaya Kemmu is a paparazzi favourite Actor Kunal Kemmu married actor Soha Ali Khan in January 2015