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EXCLUSIVE: Kunal Kemmu on Ranbir Kapoor’s praise for Madgaon Express; ‘That gives you a lot of confidence’
In an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, Kunal Kemmu, who made his directorial debut with Madgaon Express in 2024, reacted to Ranbir Kapoor's praise for the film and support from others.
Kunal Kemmu, who has acted in films like Kalyug and Golmaal 3, ventured into direction this year with Madgaon Express. His debut directorial starred Pratik Gandhi, Avinash Tiwary, and Divyenndu. Earlier, Ranbir Kapoor had watched the film and showered it with praise.
In an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, Kunal reacted to Ranbir’s compliments, saying how such encouragement gives him a lot of confidence.
Kunal Kemmu opens up about Ranbir Kapoor’s praise for Madgaon Express
In an exclusive interview with Pinkvilla, Kunal Kemmu, whose film Madgaon Express premiered in theaters in March, commented on Ranbir Kapoor’s compliments and the encouragement from the industry. Talking about such interactions, Kunal said, “They're all very encouraging. Aapko agar kisi cheez ki tareef nahi mile, toh aapka usko karne ka mann kitna hoga woh alag baat hai (If you don't get praise for something, then how much you want to do it is a different matter).”
He continued, “Main yeh nahi keh raha hun sirf tareef se hota hai (I am not saying it happens only with praise). In fact, I think sometimes when you’re criticized, that gives you a lot more fuel to say, ‘Okay, I want to do better, not necessarily to prove you wrong but to prove myself right.’”
Kunal further revealed the confidence such interactions bring, saying, “But at the same time, when you come along the way where there are people who at least resonate with what you’re trying to say or are encouraging of that, it gives you more confidence to kind of go out there and do it more.”
Watch the full interview here!
Recalling the time he narrated Madgaon Express to other people, Kunal stated, “For example, when I wrote Madgaon Express, I didn’t have the confidence to bring it out because, like I said, I am not a trained writer. I didn’t know the format that I’ve written is worth for somebody to read. And it seemed funny to me. But then, when I narrated it to two friends, they liked it.”
He added, “That gave me confidence to narrate it to ten friends. And then when those ten kind of spoke about it highly and it got mentioned somewhere, that gave me confidence to kind of keep going there. Now, if in that very first interaction, it’ll be like ‘Yaar pata nahi,’ I don’t know if I would’ve actually kind of gone there and said, ‘Hey, listen, I wanna make this film.’”
Lauding his producers, Kunal mentioned, “And again, when Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani hear it and say, ‘You know, you should direct this,’ that gives you a lot of confidence in yourself. You’ll obviously want to wish for and hope for, but if somebody is putting their money there, that gives you confidence.”
Speaking of Ranbir and the industry's support, Kunal remarked, “And in the same way, when your contemporaries or actors that you're fond of and that you know even as friends, like what you’ve done and in your private space, they can be candid and tell you in detail what they like. That gives you a lot of confidence and a lot more fuel to do better.”
More about Madgaon Express
Written and directed by Kunal Kemmu, Madgaon Express is produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under their banner Excel Entertainment. In addition to Divyenndu, Pratik Gandhi, and Avinash Tiwary, the cast also includes Nora Fatehi, Upendra Limaye, and Chhaya Kadam.
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