Kunal: I've made it

With an impressive portfolio as a child actor, Kunal Khemu was touted to have a bright future in Bollywood. But even after nine films in the last six years, real success has been elusive. The actor, in Dubai today for the premiere of Blood Money, has no problem with that.

"If you see, even the biggest stars in our country have had their share of success and failure. I'm really young and I've always done the work I liked. I've not done everything that's come my way and I've had my share."

In Blood Money, Khemu plays Kunal Kadam, a middle-class Maharashtrian with big dreams and aspirations — someone who's worked really hard to fund his education. With an MBA he lands a good job in a diamond firm in Cape Town and believes this is the start of something big.

There had been news of Blood Money being inspired by Hollywood blockbuster Blood Diamond. However, both Khemu and director Vishal Mahadkar trash the idea.

"This is a story of an Indian boy who wants to make it big and in the right way," says Mahadkar. "It is about his dilemma over whether he should keep all the money he's been earning or do the right thing, and how he succumbs to temptation and become a part of the very thing he was once against. It's very different from Blood Diamond."

The dark side

Sounds very like Khemu's debut movie as an adult star, Kalyug, where he struggled with the underground porn industry to bring back his wife.

"The sub-plot of the story is the dark side of the diamond trade and he realises that the company he works for is involved in smuggling blood diamonds and other illegal trades," says Khemu. "And he gets embroiled in it. It becomes a battle between his principles and his success. It's about how one common man realises how he's involved and it becomes a battle between him and a multi-billion dollar company."

"The underworld is the backdrop, but it's just one component of the story. It's more of a coming of age story," clarifies Mahadkar.

Mahadkar could have easily chosen Emraan Hashmi, an actor who has proved a successful mascot for Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt's films (Mahesh is the producer of Blood Money). But Khemu was the director's first choice.

"We met on the set of Kalyug and became friends," says Mahadkar. "More than that, the character I have is a very regular person and I knew it would be performance-oriented role. Khemu I know is a brilliant performer. We make a great team."

Changing his image

He's tried his hand at drama (Kalyug, Traffic Signal) and comedy (Golmaal 3, 99, Dhol) and received good reviews on talent but apart from a few, Khemu's films have not fared too well at the box office. Perhaps it was because of his image as a child actor?

"I guess it's a matter of time," he replies candidly over the phone from Mumbai. "Obviously, I'm very proud of the work I've done as a child but I also understand it's tough to disassociate with one image and build a new relationship. I consciously broke away from the screen at 15 for six years to complete my education. But I think if that hadn't worked, I wouldn't be.

"I am here, obviously because people want to see me in this kind of work. But, I haven't really made a big effort to break away from any kind of image, because I think it makes me unique in a way. When I made Kalyug, people came up and said child actors never make it as adults and I said, ‘Maybe I'll change that.' I think since I'm the only child actor who has managed to maintain a certain amount of respectability in the roles and films I've done, it's helped.

"Unfortunately, no one can predict what will or won't work at the box office. We've had box office disasters but we've loved the films. Take the remake of Agneepath, which made [millions], but the original was a dud. Also, there may be films you really don't like but are box office successes. There are actors who've worked a long time and then found stardom.

"But if I'm sitting and talking about it here that I could have been somewhere else, I should also agree to the fact that there was a possibility I could have simply disappeared and not got the work I'm actually doing."

Catch the stars in Dubai

The invitation-only red carpet premiere of Blood Money today will feature the stars of the film Kunal Khemu, Amrita Suri and Mustafa Zahid with producer Mahesh Bhatt at Grand Cineplex. The stars will later make an appearance at It's Mirchi, Ramee Royal Hotel, followed by an after-party. For further information, call 055-6005611, 055-6005678 or 055-6005670.

Don't miss it

Blood Money is released in cinemas across the UAE Wednesday.