Kunal Khemu

Kunal Khemu
Khemu at a premiere in 2024
Born	(1983-05-25) 25 May 1983 (age 42) Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Alma mater	Narsee Monjee College
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Soha Ali Khan ​ (m. 2015)​
Children	1
Relatives	Moti Lal Kemmu (grandfather)
Family	Pataudi family (via marriage) Tagore family (via marriage)

Kunal Khemu (born 25 May 1983) is an Indian film actor, writer, director, and singer-composer who works in Hindi cinema. Known for his comic timing, he has played roles in notable films including the Golmaal franchise, Kalyug , Dhol , Lootcase , Malang and Go Goa Gone . He made his debut as a writer and director with the comedy thriller Madgaon Express , for which he won IIFA Award and Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director.

Early life and background

Kunal Khemu was born on 25 May 1983 ^[1] in Srinagar, in the Kashmir Valley of the erstwhile Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, ^[2] into a Kashmiri Pandit ^[3] family to actors Ravi Kemmu and Jyoti Kemmu. ^[4] His father has worked with Shyam Benegal in Bharat Ek Khoj as unit director. ^[5] He is the older child to the couple and has a younger sister named Karishma Khemu. ^{[6] [7]}

Khemu's family lived in Srinagar during his early years and he got initial education from Burn Hall School, but his family had to shift to Jammu during their religious exodus after an Islamist insurgency erupted in Kashmir during the 1990s. Later, his family stayed in the suburban Mira Road neighbourhood of Mumbai. He finished his schooling from N. L. Dalmia High School in Mira Road and later attended Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics in Vile Parle for his further studies. He now lives in Khar.^{[ citation needed ] [8]}

His paternal grandfather, Moti Lal Kemmu was a Kashmiri playwright, and a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award in 1982 for his contribution to Kashmiri literature, and the Padma Shri. ^{[9] [10]}

Career

Khemu 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 film Sir (film) (1993). He went on to star as a child artist in films including Raja Hindustani , Zakhm , Bhai , Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke , and Dushman.

He played the lead in the 2005 film Kalyug , which was directed by Mohit Suri. ^[11] Kalyug was based on the pornography industry. 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.

His second release of 2007 was Dhol in which he again played lead. In 2008, in his only release, Superstar , he featured in a double role. In 2009, he starred in Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge and Jai Veeru . In 2009, he appeared in the comic-thriller 99 . In 2010, he appeared in Golmaal 3 in which he played a supporting role as Laxman. The film was a blockbuster and became the fourth Indian film to enter the 100 Crore Club in India and was ranked as the Third Highest grossing film of the year 2010, After Dabangg and My name is Khan .

In 2012, he worked in 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 dark side of Diamond Trade by his Boss. He co-starred in Go Goa Gone , a Zombie comedy film, which was released on 10 May 2013. Both the films were Box office Hits. Go Goa Gone has achieved a cult status for its offbeat humour and genre-bending approach.

In 2015, after over a two-year break, he returned to the screen with the thriller Bhaag Johnny about a man who gets to live two lives with the help of a Jinn, portrayed by director Vikram Bhatt. Though the film began shooting in 2013, it was released on 25 September 2015 to mixed reviews, and box office collections were not up to the mark. His second release of the same year was the comedy film Guddu Ki Gun , in which he appears in the title role along with Sumeet Vyas.

In 2017, he did a voice-over in an animated film Hanuman: Da' Damdaar in the role of Lord Indra. He also appeared in the fourth instalment of Golmaal (film series) named Golmaal Again , reprising his famous role of Laxman Sharma. The film, like its previous instalments, was declared a Blockbuster at the box office and one of the highest grossing Indian film of the year 2017.

Subsequently, he protrayed the fictional role of pro-partition separatist Abdul Khan in the 2019 ensemble period drama Kalank alongside Varun Dhawan ^[12] and corrupt cop Michael Rodrigues in Suri's Malang (2020). He then made his debut as writer and director with the comedy thriller Madgaon Express (2024), for which he won IIFA Award for Best Directorial Debut and several other accolades.

Personal life

Khemu with his wife Soha Ali Khan at a diwali party in 2022

Khemu was in a relationship with actress Soha Ali Khan since May 2009. ^{[13] [14]} The couple got engaged in July 2014 and got married in a private ceremony in Mumbai on 25 January 2015 in the presence of selected members of Soha's Family. Through his marriage to Khan, he is related to the Pataudi family. On 29 September 2017, Khan gave birth to their daughter Inaaya Naumi Khemu. ^{[15] [16]}

Discography

Song	Year	Album	Composer
"Babaji Ki Booti"	2013	Go Goa Gone	Sachin–Jigar
"Hum Yahin"	2024	Madgaon Express	Ankur Tewari Kunal Khemu

Filmography

Key

†	Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Sir	Kunal
	Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke	Sunny
1994	Naaraaz	Sunny
1996	Raja Hindustani	Rajnikant
1997	Tamanna	Young Sajid
	Bhai	Kisna
1998	Zakhm	Young Ajay
	Dushman	Bheem Bahadur Singh
	Angaaray	Young Amar
2005	Kalyug	Kunal P. Darr
2007	Traffic Signal	Silsila
	Dhol	Gautam Sisodia (Goti)
2008	Superstar	Kunal Mehra / Karan Saxena
2009	Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge	CA Anand Pawar
	Jai Veeru	Veeru / Veer Sharma
	99	Sachin
2010	Golmaal 3	Laxman Sharma
2012	Blood Money	Kunal Kadam
2013	Go Goa Gone	Hardik	Also dialogue writer
2014	Mr Joe B. Carvalho	Himself	Cameo
	Haircut	Himself	Short film; cameo
2015	Bhaag Johnny	Janardhan "Johnny" Arora
	Guddu Ki Gun	Gowardhan "Guddu" Prasad
2017	Hanuman: Da' Damdaar	Lord Indra	Voiceover
	Poster Boys	Himself	Cameo
	Golmaal Again	Laxman Sharma
2018	Simmba	Himself	Cameo
2019	Kalank	Abdul Khan
2020	Malang	Michael Rodriguez
	Lootcase	Nandan Kumar
2023	Kanjoos Makhichoos	Jamuna Prasad Pandey
2024	Madgaon Express	Drug Peddler	Cameo; also writer and director, lyricist for "Hum Yahin" and "Bohot Bhaari"

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Gul Gulshan Gulfaam	Unknown
1989	Chitra Kathaien	Unknown	Episode: "Jhoot ka Aalam"
2019–2022	Abhay	SP Abhay Pratap Singh	ZEE5 series
2023	Pop Kaun?	Sahil	Disney+ Hotstar series
2025	Single Papa	Gaurav Gehlot	Netflix series [17]
TBA	Gulkanda Tales†	TBA	Prime Video series [18]

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
70th Filmfare Awards	2025	Best Debut Director	Madgaon Express	Won	[19]
		Best Screenplay		Nominated
		Best Dialogue		Nominated
IIFA Awards	2025	Best Directorial Debut	Madgaon Express	Won	[20]
Filmfare OTT Awards	2023	Best Actor: Comedy	Pop Kaun?	Nominated	[21]
Screen Awards	1998	Best Child Artist	Zakhm	Won	[22]
	2014	Best Dialogue	Go Goa Gone	Nominated	[23]
		Best Performance in a Comic Role - Male		Nominated
Stardust Awards	2006	Superstar of Tomorrow - Male	Kalyug	Won

References

1. "10 साल की उम्र में ही कुणाल ने शुरू कर दी थी एक्टिंग, 'जख्म' खाकर जीता था दुनिया का दिल". ABP News (in Hindi). 25 May 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
2. "Kunal Khemu is sad that Srinagar in on news for bloodshed". Daily News and Analysis . 3 March 2009. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
3. "Kunal Khemu On Being Kashmiri Pandit: "I did Feel like an OUTSIDER Every now and Then But…"". Bollywood Hungama. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
4. Karia, Vidhi (19 May 2017). "Kunal Kemmu runs errands with fam". Filmfare. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
5. "Kunal Kemmu Reveals His Father Went To NSD, Worked With Shyam Benegal". Outlook India. IANS. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
6. "Kunal Kemmu shares heartfelt note on Raksha Bandhan, urges men to respect women: "May it teach each man to love, respect, and treat women well"". bollywoodhungama.com. 20 August 2024.
7. "B-Town celebrities celebrate the brother-sister bond on Bhai Dooj". thestatesman.com. 27 October 2022.
8. Agarwal, Mihika (6 June 2020). "26 pictures and videos that take you inside Soha Ali Khan's Mumbai home". Vogue India. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
9. "Kashmiri Playwrights". Ikashmir.net. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
10. "Padma Awards". pib. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
11. Subhash K Jha (21 December 2005). "Kunal Khemu: Child grows up". Sify . Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
12. "Kunal Khemu does cameo in Mr Joe B. Carvalho | Bollywood News | Hindi Movies News | News". Bollywood Hungama . 12 December 2013. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
13. "Soha Ali khan: Living-in with Kunal Khemu is like being married". Movies.ndtv.com. 9 May 2013. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
14. "Spotted: Soha Ali Khan with beau Kunal Khemu". Mid-day.com. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
15. "Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu get engaged". The Hindu. 24 July 2014. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
16. "Soha Ali Khan Marries Kunal Khemu, Saif-Kareena Play Hosts - NDTV Movies". Movies.ndtv.com. 25 January 2015. Archived from the original on 25 January 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
17. "'Single Papa': Kunal Kemmu Headlines New Netflix Comedy Series". The Hollywood Reporter . 19 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
18. Singh, Suhani (30 December 2023). "Gulkanda Tales to Heeramandi: Web series you shouldn't miss in 2024". India Today. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
19. "Nominations for The 70th Hyundai Filmfare Awards 2025 With Gujarat Tourism: Full List Out". Filmfare. 26 September 2025.
20. "Winners 25th IIFA Awards Full list". 8 March 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
21. "Nominations for the Filmfare OTT Awards 2023: Full list out". 22 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
22. "Awards winner". 22 October 1999. Archived from the original on 22 October 1999.
23. "Kunal Kemmu". Bollywood Hungama . 25 March 2021.

External links

• Kunal Khemu at IMDb