Kunal Kemmu reveals how Mahesh Bhatt bribed him to miss school trip and come to set: 'Worst deal I made' | Interview
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At a time when he is being hailed as one of the most original comedy filmmakers in the industry, it is hard to reconcile with the fact that Kunal Kemmu began his career as a child artist, making his name as the cute but outspoken kid in many hits of the early 90s. Mahesh Bhatt played a major role in Kunal’s career, directing some of his most memorable films as a child star and later giving him a break as an adult. But he was also part of the ‘worst deal’ Kunal ever made. In a candid conversation with Hindustan Times, Kunal talked about his early days in the movie industry, particularly one instance that happened when he was filming Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke
Adding to this, Kunal Kemmu and Mahesh Bhatt on the sets of Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke. Kunal Kemmu on how Mahesh Bhatt bribed him Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, directed by Mahesh Bhatt , is a 1993 movie that starred Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla in the lead roles. Kunal appeared as a child star in the movie, alongside Ashrafa and Sharokh Bharucha. Kunal told us that once, his school picnic coincided with the shoot schedule and the seven-year-old him was not too keen to miss the fun picnic. “I was all of 7. It was very weird because Bhatt sahab asked my dad how he would do this shoot, as he has a scene tomorrow. My dad just told him, ‘I am not getting into this. You guys can settle this yourselves’,” Kunal recalled.
Meanwhile, The star shared the filmmaker eventually ‘bribed’ him into missing the picnic. He explained, “I got bribed. There used to be this Samurai video game that was popular. He asked me, ‘What can I do for you, what can I get you that you won’t go?’ I shared I don’t have a video game, so he got me that video game.”
Notably, But Kunal calls it the ‘worst deal he made’ because, even after he got his game, he had to watch his classmates leave for the picnic without me. “It was the worst deal I made because my school was visible from my home, and the next morning I could see the bus getting full with kids, and they waved at me, asking, ‘Tu nahi aa raha (You aren’t coming?)’.”
As per the latest buzz, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke was Kunal’s second movie after Sir. He appeared in a few more films as a child star, including Zakhm, for which his performance was lauded. He made his debut as a lead star in 2005 with the Mahesh Bhatt-produced Kalyug. In 2024, he made his directorial debut with Madgaon Express.
In further updates, Kunal is now returning to direction with the spy comedy Vibe. This time, he stars in the movie himself. The cast of Vibe also includes Preity Zinta, Vanshika Dhir, Dinesh Lal Yadav, and Yashpal Sharma, among others. Produced by Kunal Kemmu and Chirag Nihalani under their production banner Drongo Films, in association with Amazon MGM Studios, Vibe will be out in cinemas on September 18.
On top of that, Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Movie Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world. Read More
Source: Hindustan Times