A lead at last!

Actor Kunal Khemu comes of age with Kalyug

His vulnerability catches one's attention. Despite the pumped up body, the child in him cannot be missed. The name Kunal Khemu might not exactly ring a bell.

But talk of the boy who played Pooja Bhat's son in Zakhm and you know who we're talking about. And although he is a ?little depressed' about not getting enough screen space in the promos of Kalyug, his debut film as a lead actor, he surely knows which side of his bread is buttered.

Ask him categorically if he got a raw deal from the Bhatt camp and pat comes the reply. "I don't think I'd like to answer that one. I'd rather have people watch the film and judge it for themselves."

Khemu has been voicing his dissent over the promos of the film for a while now. Despite Emraan Hashmi's cameo in the movie, his face is all over the publicity material.
 
"Yeah, I do feel hurt to see someone else's face when it is my movie. But I guess they (Vishesh Films) know what they are doing."

Kalyug is about a newlywed couple who fall prey to a pornography racket. "It was initially called Blue Film, but the producers thought against it because they wished it to be essentially a family entertainer," he says.

But what about the steamy lovemaking scenes in the movie? "Oh! There is just one scene but that is hardly steamy. It has been shot in a conventional way. I wish there were some steamy scenes in the movie though," he laughs.

Khemu's association with the Bhatts goes a long way. He began his career with Mahesh Bhatt's Hum Hain Raahi Pyaar Ke (1993) playing the adorable Sunny among the menagerie of children with Aamir Khan.

And after doing a few other films (most notable among them being Bhai (1997) with Sunil Shetty), he did his last film as a child actor in Zakhm with the Bhatts.

Incidentally that was also Mahesh Bhatt's last directorial venture. "After that I wanted to concentrate on my studies. In fact, I didn't want to do Zakhm. But I ended up doing it because I had committed to Maheshji."

It was in this six-year long sabbatical that Khemu groomed himself not just as an actor but what he calls ?an overall performer'.

"You see, these days films are not just about acting, it's also about one's body and sex appeal. And I was working on it all," he states.

At the same time he was also busy winning trophies: the Balraj Sahani Trophy for his play Ek Thi Sharada and Best Actor Award from Mumbai University for another play, Purna Viram.

His first break came in 1991 when he acted in one of Ved Rahi's Doordarshan serial Chitra Kathayein.

"I did one of the stories. And soon after I got a call from Mahesh Bhatt's office. They wanted me to cast with Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla in Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke. I liked the script and readily agreed to be a part of the film. I met Maheshji for the first time and we struck a chemistry," he recalls.

So, at the age of eight Khemu's tryst with Bollywood began. "I made sure that I didn't shoot during school hours. My friends and teachers were also supportive. And since I did just one film at a time along with a couple of ad films I never missed classes."

And how different is it from being a child actor? "Different ... in fact difficult. As a child actor I used to be pretty carefree. But now, the film rests on my shoulders. If it doesn't do well, I will be responsible," he says.