KUNAL KHEMU

KUNAL KHEMU - Film Actor

Kunal Khemu (25 May 1983) Khemu was born to actors Ravi and Jyoti Khemu in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.  He attended school (Dalmia International) in Mira Road, Mumbai and pursued higher education at Amity University. His grandfather, Moti Lal Kemmu (original spellings of last name), is a well-known Kashmiri playwright and a recipient of several awards by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Rashtra Bhasa Prachar Samiti, Sahitya Akademi award in 1982 for his contribution to Kashmiri literature as a playwright, and Padamshree. 

Kunal Khemu was amongst the most acclaimed and popular child-artist in the late 80s and early 90s. He 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 movie Sir (1993), starring Naseeruddin Shah and Pooja Bhatt. He went on to star as a child artist in many movies such as Raja Hindustani, Zakhm, Bhai and Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke.

As an adult, he made his comeback as the male lead in the 2005 film, Kalyug, which was directed by Mohit Suri. Kalyug was based on the Pornography industry, and was a box office success, leading Kunal Khemu to success thereon. 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. Traffic Signal was also a huge box office success, making it Khemu's second hit.

His second release of the year 2007, was Dhol in which he again played a lead role. The film was also a moderate success at the box office, giving Khemu a hattrick of three success in a row. In 2008, his only release, Superstar in which he featured in a double-role, turned out to be his first critical and commercial flop, though Khemu's performance was very well praised.

In 2009, he starred in Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge and Jai Veeru, which both performed average business at the box office. He then returned to his success streak, when he starred in the comic-thriller 99 opposite Soha Ali Khan, which was a semi-hit at the box office. In 2010, he appeared in his career's biggest success, Golmaal 3 in which he played a supporting role as Laxman, and his character and performance were praised by critics. Golmaal 3 was panned by critics but elevated to Blockbuster status at the box office.

His latest venture is Mukesh Bhatt's Blood Money, in which he played the lead role as Kunal Kadam, an honest and hard worker who is unknowingly taken into the underworld by his senior boss. Blood Money was a moderate success at the box office. Khemu is currently working with Saif Ali Khan, who is his brother in law, for his production Go Goa Gone, which is currently under production.