Kunal Kemmu has recalled how a video game convinced him to skip a school picnic and stay back for the shoot of Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke when he was just seven years old.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Kunal looked back at his childhood in films and remembered the dilemma he faced while shooting the 1993 Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla-starrer.
His school picnic was scheduled for the same day he was needed on set. Kunal’s father did not want to make the decision for him and left the matter to the young actor and director Mahesh Bhatt.
“I was all of 7. It was very weird because Bhatt sahab asked my dad how he would do this shoot, as he has a scene tomorrow. My dad just told him, ‘I am not getting into this. You guys can settle this yourselves,’” Kunal recalled.
Bhatt then came up with an offer that appealed to the seven-year-old. A Samurai video game was popular at the time, but Kunal did not own one.
The director asked him what he wanted in exchange for staying back for the shoot.
“I got bribed. There used to be this Samurai video game that was popular. He asked me, ‘What can I do for you, what can I get you that you won’t go?’ I said I don’t have a video game, so he got me that video game,” Kunal said.
However, the deal did not seem as attractive the following morning.
Kunal could see his school from his home and watched as the picnic bus filled with his classmates. His friends even waved at him and asked why he was not joining them.
“It was the worst deal I made because my school was visible from my home, and the next morning I could see the bus getting full with kids, and they waved at me, asking, ‘Tu nahi aa raha (You aren’t coming?)’,” he recalled.
Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke was Kunal’s second film after Sir. He later appeared in films such as Zakhm as a child actor before returning as a lead with Kalyug in 2005, which Mahesh Bhatt produced.
Kunal made his directorial debut with Madgaon Express in 2024. He is now set to return behind the camera with the spy comedy Vibe, in which he will also act.
The film stars Preity Zinta, Vanshika Dhir, Dinesh Lal Yadav and Yashpal Sharma. Vibe is scheduled to release in cinemas on 18 September.
