Kunal Khemu

Kunal Khemu (born 25 May 1983) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema.

Kunal Khemu
Kunal Khemu at a premiere in 2013
Born	(1983-05-25) 25 May 1983 (age 41) Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Alma mater	Narsee Monjee College
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Soha Ali Khan ​ (m. 2015)​
Children	1
Relatives	Moti Lal Kemmu (grandfather)

Early life and background

Kunal Khemu was born on 25 May 1983^[1] in Srinagar, in the Kashmir Valley of the erstwhile Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir,^[2] into a Kashmiri Pandit^[3] family to actors Ravi Kemmu and Jyoti Kemmu.^[4] He is the older child to the couple and has a younger sister named Karishma Khemu.^[5][6]

Khemu's family lived in Srinagar during his early years and he got initial education from Burn Hall School, but his family had to shift to Jammu during their religious exodus after an Islamist insurgency erupted in Kashmir during the 1990s. Later, his family stayed in the suburban Mira Road neighbourhood of Mumbai. He finished his schooling from N. L. Dalmia High School in Mira Road and later attended Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics in Vile Parle for his further studies. He now lives in Khar.^{[citation needed]}

His paternal grandfather, Moti Lal Kemmu was a Kashmiri playwright, and a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award in 1982 for his contribution to Kashmiri literature, and the Padma Shri.^[7][8]

Career

Khemu made his debut as a child actor appearing in the Doordarshan TV series Gul Gulshan Gulfaam (1987), directed by Ved Rahi. He made his film debut with Mahesh Bhatt's film Sir (film) (1993). He went on to star as a child artist in films including Raja Hindustani, Zakhm, Bhai, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, and Dushman.

He played the lead in the 2005 film Kalyug, which was directed by Mohit Suri.^[9] Kalyug was based on the pornography industry. In 2007, his first release was Madhur Bhandarkar's Traffic Signal, where he played a street-smart money lender who lends money to poor families, but always gets it back with interest.

His second release of 2007 was Dhol in which he again played lead. In 2008, in his only release, Superstar, he featured in a double role. In 2009, he starred in Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge and Jai Veeru. In 2009, he appeared in the comic-thriller 99. In 2010, he appeared in Golmaal 3 in which he played a supporting role as Laxman.

In 2012, he appeared in Mukesh Bhatt's Blood Money, in which played the lead role as Kunal Kadam, an honest and hard worker who is unknowingly taken into the dark side of Diamond Trade by his Boss. He co-starred in Go Goa Gone, a Zombie comedy film, which was released on 10 May 2013. Both the films fared well at the box office.

In 2015, after over a two-year break, he returned to the screen with the thriller Bhaag Johnny about a man who gets to live two lives by the help of a Jinn, portrayed by director Vikram Bhatt. Though the film began shooting in 2013, it released on 25 September 2015 to mixed reviews and low box office collections.^{[citation needed]} His second release of the same year was the comedy film Guddu Ki Gun, in which he appears in the title role along with Sumeet Vyas. In 2017, he did a voice over in an animated film Hanuman: Da' Damdaar in role of Lord Indra. He also appeared in the fourth instalment of Golmaal (film series) named Golmaal Again reprising his famous role of Laxman Sharma. He portrayed a noteworthy negative character in Malang and gained critical acclaim for his role in Kalank .^[10]

Personal life

Khemu with his wife Soha Ali Khan at a party in 2016

Khemu was in a relationship with actress Soha Ali Khan since May 2009.^[11][12] The couple got engaged in July 2014 and got married in a private ceremony in Mumbai on 25 January 2015 in the presence of selected members of Soha's Family. Through his marriage to Khan, he is related to the Pataudi family. On 29 September 2017, Khan gave birth to their daughter Inaaya Naumi Khemu.^[13][14]

Discography

Song	Year	Album	Composer
"Babaji Ki Booti"	2013	Go Goa Gone	Sachin–Jigar
"Hum Yahin"	2024	Madgaon Express	Ankur Tewari Kunal Khemu

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Sir	Kunal
	Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke	Sunny
1994	Naaraaz	Sunny
1996	Raja Hindustani	Rajnikant
1997	Tamanna	Young Sajid
	Bhai	Kisna
1998	Zakhm	Young Ajay
	Dushman	Bheem Bahadur Singh
	Angaaray	Young Amar
2005	Kalyug	Kunal P. Darr
2007	Traffic Signal	Silsila
	Dhol	Gautam Sisodia (Goti)
2008	Superstar	Kunal Mehra / Karan Saxena
2009	Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge	CA Anand Pawar
	Jai Veeru	Veeru / Veer Sharma
	99	Sachin
2010	Golmaal 3	Laxman Sharma
2012	Blood Money	Kunal Kadam
2013	Go Goa Gone	Hardik	Also written dialogues
2014	Mr Joe B. Carvalho	Himself	Cameo
	Haircut	Himself	Short film; cameo
2015	Bhaag Johnny	Janardhan "Johnny" Arora
	Guddu Ki Gun	Gowardhan "Guddu" Prasad
2017	Hanuman: Da' Damdaar	Lord Indra	Voice
	Poster Boys	Himself	Cameo
	Golmaal Again	Laxman Sharma
2018	Simmba	Himself	Cameo
2019	Kalank	Abdul Khan
2020	Malang	Michael Rodriguez
	Lootcase	Nandan Kumar
2023	Kanjoos Makhichoos	Jamuna Prasad Pandey
2024	Madgaon Express	Drug Peddler	Cameo; also writer and director, lyricist for "Hum Yahin" and "Bohot Bhaari"

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Gul Gulshan Gulfaam	Un­known
1989	Chitra Kathaien	Un­known	Episode: "Jhoot ka Aalam"
2010	Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 3	Contestant	Reality show
2019–2022	Abhay	SP Abhay Pratap Singh	3 seasons
2023	Pop Kaun?	Sahil	6 episodes
TBA	Gulkanda Tales †	TBA	Post-production[15]

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
IIFA Awards	2025	Best Directorial Debut	Madgaon Express	Won	[16]
Filmfare OTT Awards	2023	Best Actor: Comedy	Pop Kaun?	Nominated	[17]
Screen Awards	1998	Best Child Artist	Zakhm	Won	[18]
	2014	Best Dialogue	Go Goa Gone	Nominated	[19]
		Best Performance in a Comic Role - Male		Nominated
Stardust Awards	2006	Superstar of Tomorrow - Male	Kalyug	Won