It’s been three years since Kunal Kapoor was last seen at the movies, in Sameer Sharma’s Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana. While he missed not doing movies, the 37-year-old has been busy writing scripts and also tying the knot with his girlfriend of five years, Naina Bachchan. Last Friday, Kunal returned to theatres with Kaun Kitney Paani Mein, a satire by National Award-winning director Nila Madhab Panda. In a quick phone chat, Kunal told t2 about his career and his latest passion — race cars. 

You’ve been missing in action…

I have been here. I get surprised when people ask me this. I have been around… reading scripts, writing scripts and working towards a play. I know it’s been a while since my last release. It wasn’t intentional. I just wasn’t getting any films that I liked. I love being on a film set… if it was up to me, I’d be on a set 24/7. But I can’t make a film for the sake of ‘being seen’. I am told it’s important to be constantly ‘seen’, but I can’t get myself to do that.

Did you miss the movies?

I did… a lot. Like I said, I love being on a set. Before becoming an actor, I tried my hand at a lot of things. But when I got to a movie set, I was really happy. It was like I was home (laughs). If you choose to follow a certain path… like I have decided to only do the work that interests me… you have to lose something.

What about Kaun Kitney Paani Mein piqued your interest?

There were a lot of things. I loved the world that they have created in the film. I had actually never read a script like this before. When I spoke with Madhab (Panda) I realised that the film is rooted in his life. Madhab grew up in a place where water is so scarce that it’s used as currency. At a time when there is so much being said about climate change and water scarcity, this felt like an important film to be a part of. 
What I like about Madhab’s style of storytelling is that he tells relevant and hard-hitting stories, but with layers of romance or humour. Like his National Award-winning film I Am Kalam addressed an important issue, but has a heartwarming feel to it.

You lost a lot of weight for this film...

Yes, about 8kg. Madhab felt that I was too muscular. He wanted me to look ‘regular’… like the boy-next-door. I told him I was already lean, but clearly he was looking for something different. It wasn’t very challenging for me because my metabolism is very high. 

For the record, I hate you! 

(Laughs) Yes, I get that a lot. But see I have the opposite problem that I need to work more to put on weight. 

Stop... you are not helping your cause!

(Laughs) Fine!

In an earlier interview, you said this film helped you explore a world that you had never experienced before...
Look, I grew up in Mumbai and not having lived anywhere else, my world view is very myopic. On an intellectual level, I am aware of a lot of things but experientially, I don’t know a lot of things. Like I don’t know what it means to live in drought conditions. Or, what it means to live in a village in Odisha. So, it was exciting to experience both.
When I did my first film, Meenaxi (2004), Raghubir Yadav told me that the most exciting part of an actor’s life is that you get to live the lives of other people. That’s what makes being an actor such a high. 

What happened with the scripts you’ve been writing?

Well, three of them are almost finalised... two scripts also have producers. The world looks at everyone in a limited way. So, I decided to write parts for myself that no one else was coming to me with.  

A few years ago when we had spoken, you were training to be a pilot...

That was quite a while ago. Of late, I have been driving rally cars. Last year, I had the opportunity to drive a Formula 3 race car in Abu Dhabi which was incredible! So I have decided to do a course in racing on the Formula 3 circuit. 

What was your recent visit to Nepal like?

It was incredible. I founded Keto, a platform that would help crowdfund for social and creative causes. We decided to raise funds for the rehabilitation of Nepal after the devastating earthquake. I am very glad that many friends from the industry chipped in by starting Facebook pages. We raised about Rs 1.2 crore that was sent to Nepal. The first step was to help people with basic survival kits that have water, tarpaulin and medicines. I went recently to see how that money is being used. Schools and homes are being built with that money. We think that just sending the money is enough, but it’s not. There is a lot more that still needs to be done. I went to one village which was so tough to reach. We were off-road driving for about three hours and then we climbed up a mountain for an hour. And, this is a trip that aid workers make every single day to help the village.

Finally, you got married earlier this year…

Yes... it’s been wonderful. Naina is one of my closest friends. We met in Delhi through some common friends about five years ago. We are in a great space. 

Karishma Upadhyay
I like Kunal Kapoor because.... Tell t2@abp.in