Kunal Kemmu recalls his ‘terrifying’ Kashmir childhood: ‘A blast happened below our house while we were inside’

Actor, filmmaker Kunal Kemmu was just six when a sudden blast turned an ordinary afternoon of playing cards into a part of his childhood. Years later he opened up about his scary Kashmir past, recalling an event that involved smoke, glass and a moment that is still dark for him.

Long before Kunal Kemmu became a familiar name associated with films such as Kalyug, Go Goa Gone, Lootcase and Madgaon Express, he was a young boy living in Srinagar.

Kemmu’s experience of childhood in Kashmir had its share of both positive as well as terrifying events. While going to the Dal Lake for his classes on his father’s back, visiting Pahalgam or playing Cricket with his brother figures in the happy memories, the other side of life in Kashmir was also something that he couldn’t completely understand.

Kemmu had spoken of how his parents tried hard to save him from all the chaos around. But there were some situations that a little boy could not tackle no matter how hard his parents tried.

One such incident happened when he was playing cards with his cousin in his own house.

The two young boys were simply playing a game of Bluff when suddenly a blast occurred beneath the house.

Kemmu vividly recalls how he lost his balance at the moment of the blast but what followed thereafter was something that he would associate with smoke, glass and a strange silence.

He even describes how he saw the surroundings from a different angle as he was tossed on the ground upside down and then darkness took over. He regained consciousness after some time.

It was a scary experience for the six-year-old and perhaps a little difficult to understand as well. All he knew was that something really horrible had happened around him.

He had spoken of how difficult it was for him to actually understand what was the reason for all the chaos around.

“Was it a cylinder or a bomb?”

he asks

Even a simple sound of explosion used to instill a sense of uneasiness within him.

As an innocent six-year-old, he had no idea about the valley’s troubled past but he could clearly see the effect that it was causing around him. He could see his parents’ anxiety and anger but then, as a kid he had no idea what exactly was going on. He also remembers the stone pelting incidents in Nawakadal where he saw the Army arriving on the spot. On some occasions, he along with his cousin used to peek out from the balcony to see what exactly was happening.

After a long time, Kemmu’s family shifted to Mumbai but at that time, it was difficult to imagine that this shift would actually turn out to be permanent.

He always believed that his parents had done their best to keep him away from the chaos and he too used to avoid asking them about that phase of his life as a child in Kashmir. All he knew was that it was a topic that they didn’t want to discuss.

When it comes to acting, ironically enough, the actor’s association with Srinagar is what helped him get into the industry. His parents used to be a part of the Doordarshan serial Gul Gulshan Gulfaam and he would sometimes accompany them to the shooting location. He never had ambitions of becoming an actor and he dreaded the thought of being in front of the camera.

But then one day the director of the serial asked him to come on the TV screen and thus Kunal Kemmu became an “accidental actor”.

He landed up with a role in Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke but it was Zakhm that convinced him to take acting as a serious profession.

After five years, he was back with Kalyug in 2005, but in the meantime, he had spent his college days doing theatre. Recently, Kemmu has taken on more challenges and has been busy making films. In 2024, he made his directorial debut with Madgaon Express.

Thus, a journey of an actor, writer and filmmaker has come a long way from being a six-year-old scared of blasts and glass shattering around him to being a part of the industry as a writer, actor and a director.