Kunal Khemu tells Divya Kaushik he hopes to make his fans laugh and scare them with Go Goa Gone
His peers might lay importance on the numbers of films they do in a year, but this has never bothered Kunal Khemu. He is happy doing just one, or not even that.
There are no compromises made to the kind of film he wants to act in.“The script is of utmost importance. I look forward to do something I would love to watch,” said he and added “The second thing that matters is the character I play. People should connect. And the film should have brand recall, in terms of its producer, director or actor. Until this happens, the audience will not be drawn,” said Khemu, who is involved with promos for Go Goa Gone, which has him, Vir Das, Saif Ali Khan.
The actor has been a part of the project from its inception, with directors Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK.“When I did 99, I spent time with Raj and DK who wanted to create something different and non-stereotype. So we had this idea for a zombie film. I was immediately interested, considering they wanted to make a zom-com. Indians have loved watching two
genres — comedy and horror. The combination of the two interested me. I wasn’t originally part of the film, while it was being scripted. It was later decided I could be one of the guys, Hardik. Him and luv, tag along to Goa with their friend, while he is on a business trip. They are invited to an underground rave party on the island, with two guys, (him and Vir Das), where they meet Saif Ali Khan.”
He added, “There is something weird about the island. It is the same place where we will meet the zombies. It is challenging to scare and make people laugh, and also create a zombie film that would not be too gory for Indians,” shared the actor.
He has worked as a child artist in films like Hum Hai Rahi Pyaar Ke, Raja Hindustani and Zakhm and acted in Kalyug, Dhol and 99. Unfortunately, after Kalyug, no film created ripples at the box office or affected his career graph.
But Khemu who has been acting from the young age of eight, has no complaints.“I have seen how things work and am in no hurry to prove anything. But I would like to do something involving filmmaking. It’s fascinating to work behind the camera. I am not a writer, but I scribble sometimes. I watch world cinema and TV to get ideas and see how techniques are used and subjects treated World cinema gives you vision and keeps you better informed.” He added that he loved watching Simon Pegg’s Shaun of the Dead and Resident Evil.
Kunal is currently involved with Vikram Bhatt’s Bhaag Johny. “I can’t say anything about future. But I’m happy being an actor. I love acting and the whole idea of being in front of the camera. As an actor you get to play different roles and genres. I feel that it pleases and satisfies me to do different genres as it can get repetitive. I am still getting my footing though.” The actor is presently dating Soha Ali Khan, but there is no news of marriage yet and the two don’t seem to be in hurry.