I had nothing to lose: Kunal Kemmu on stepping into direction

Actor Kunal Kemmu says everyone in the film industry carries a filmmaker within, a voice that often stays hidden out of fear, and when he finally got the chance to direct, he refused to let fear hold him back.

And the risk paid off, as his directorial debut, the 2024 comedy “Madgaon Express”, turned out to be a surprise hit at the box office.

“I just had stories to tell, and ‘Madgaon Express’ was one of them. When I pitched that film, and everybody who read it thought that I should direct it, I was pleasantly surprised by that.

“And I think somewhere deep within, everybody who’s in the film (industry) has a filmmaker somewhere who’s just scared to come out. And I just felt that, being in this industry, opportunities don’t come your way every now and then,” Kemmu told PTI in an interview.

The 42-year-old actor, who has already started working on his next directorial, said he wanted to make the most of the opportunity and felt he had nothing to lose.

“I never made a film before. I’ve never been to a film school. So at worst, I’ll just know that I don’t know how to do it. But if I can make it, it’ll give me another avenue to tell stories in the future. So I’m very happy I took that risk. I’m even happier that it paid off. And then I got so much love for it,” he said.

Kemmu is currently waiting for the release of his next project — comedy drama series “Single Papa”, in which he essays the role of a single father.

The Netflix show, which will start streaming from Thursday, is directed by Shashank Khaitan, Hitesh Kewalya and Neeraj Udhwani. It is created by Udhwani and Ishita Moitra.

“I just loved the concept, story, and writing,” Kemmu said when asked what drew him to the show.

“And I love the people who are involved in making it. And of course, Netflix is kind of trying to break the clutter with a family drama or dramedy. All of this just resonated with me,” he added.

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The actor, who has tickled the funny bone of the audiences with his performances in movies like “Dhol”, “Golmaal 3”, “Go Goa Gone”, and “Lootcase”, said it was Khaitan and producer Samar Khan who approached him with the project.

“They just said that ‘We’ll show up and we’ll tell you the story and you see what you feel.’ And after hearing the first episode they read, I instinctively was like, ‘I’m drawn to this, I want to do it.’

“I think our sensibilities also kind of matched. And hence, we’ve been able to put together this entire show in a way that makes all of us so happy and proud of it.”

In “Single Papa”, Kemmu plays Gaurav Gehlot, a self-described “lovable man-child” and divorcee who stuns his family by deciding to adopt a baby. What follows is a whirlwind of chaos, as the still-immature Gaurav stumbles his way through single parenthood while his baffled relatives struggle to keep up.

Kemmu believes it is difficult to sustain good comedy, if the writing isn’t strong, especially in long-form storytelling.

“But luckily, with ‘Single Papa’, it’s more than just a comedy. There’s a whole journey of a man who’s trying to be a single father. And then this whole dynamics with all the lovely characters that have been written in the show – whether it’s his family, his friend, the so-called antagonist in his life, or his relationship with his ex-wife.

“So there are many layers to the story. And despite all this, they’ve (the makers) kept every episode within a certain time limit. The team was mindful of everything because, at the end of the day, you also want to make an entertaining show that hopefully the entire family can sit together, watch, have a laugh, enjoy, and maybe have a repeat value to it, which often happens with comedies.”

“Single Papa” also stars Manoj Pahwa, Neha Dhupia, Prajakta Koli and Ayesha Raza in pivotal roles.