From playing intense parts to switching to comedy, Kunal Kemmu says every time he tries to feature in diverse films, it feels as if he is making his debut every second year in Bollywood.
The actor started out as a child artiste in the 1990s and went on to do films such as Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Raja Hindustani, Zakhm, and Dushman. "I still feel I'm a newcomer on the basis of the responses I get. People tell me 'oh you look so young', 'oh he's comeback with a new film.' I keep feeling I constantly debut every two years," Kunal told PTI.
After having worked as a child artiste for a decade, the actor proved his mettle as a lead actor with his 2005 debut Kalyug and followed it up with Traffic Signal, both high on content films. His career witnessed a downfall after a string of flop films until Rohit Shetty's Golmaal 3 in 2010 and Go Goa Gone (2013) came his way.
This constant genre-jumping, Kunal says, comes with the aim to constantly reinvent himself. "It may look like a struggle from one perspective, but there are pluses and minuses. I can't say 'it's all cool, I'm planning everything', no. There are times when your films don't work, your phone doesn't ring and you wonder what you have done. You question it (the choice).
"But then something good comes along and you invest all your energy into it, as opposed to waste time on what happened. It's a huge learning that things aren't always in your control. You can only be responsible for what you're doing," he adds.
The actor says both success and failure in his 15-year-long career has only made him an optimist. "It has been a journey of ups and downs. There have been moments of immense joy and heartbreaks. Everything I have gone through has made me better."
In his latest film Kalank, which also featured Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapur, Kunal was the one to steal the thunder as an antagonist, Abdul.
Kunal, 35, is "overwhelmed" with the response coming his way for Kalank and he gives credit to producer Karan Johar for "trusting" him with his grand vision. "I thought this guy is trusting me with something that I've not done. He believed in me and I went ahead with it. I played the part to the best of my ability."
The actor will next be seen in Malang, which reunites him with his Kalyug director Mohit Suri and a long-awaited sequel to the zombie comedy Go Goa Gone.