Birthdate: 18thOctober, 1977
Zodiac: Libra
Marital Status: He tied the knot with Sheena Sippy, daughter of the movie director, Ramesh Sippy.
Awards:
1) In 2006, Kunal Kapoor was awarded the Star Sabsey Favorite Naya Hero Award.
2) Next year in 2007, he received the Stardust Breakthrough Performance Award: Male.
Biography: Kunal Kapoor, one of the most talented actors from B town was born in the City of Dreams, Mumbai in India on the 18th of October, 1975. His father ShashiKapoorhails from Amritsar and his mother Jennifer Kendalcomes from Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Kunal began his illustrious career as an assistant director on the sets of ‘Aks’, the Amitabh Bachhan starrer, directed by RakeyshOmprakashMehra.
It was Barry John, the great theatre legend, under whom Kunal started training himself to grow up as a well-established actor. He carried on this theatre career of his with Motley, which was a theatre group managed and run by the well-known actor, Naseeruddin Shah and Kunal had done a number of plays under his guidance.
The first movie in which he made an appearance was ‘Meenakshi: A Tale of Three Cities’, directed by M.F Hussain, the renowned Indian painter. The three cities referred to here are Hyderabad, Prague and Jaisalmer. This movie not only earned him critical acclaim but it also made it possible for him to establish his own pace and footing in the film industry.
The year 2006 was a gem of a year to him with the release of the Aamir Khan starrer, ‘Rang De Basanti’, directed by RakyeshOmprakashMehra. This movie was a big hit at the box office and this film turned Kunal into a star overnight. This critically and commercially successful movie went on to become the official movie sent by India to the Oscars. Among numerous other awards, ‘Rang De Basanti’ earned a nomination at the 2007 BAFTA Awards (The British Academy of Film and Television Arts) in Best Foreign Film category.Kunal’s stupendous performance in the film earned him lots of acclaim as well as a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award nomination. He became a known face in the film industry after starring in this blockbuster film.
Next year did not go quite as well as he had expected to. He appeared in Milan Luthria’s ‘Hattrick’ which failed to create much of an impact at the box office. Following ‘Hattrick’, he starred in ‘AajaNachle’ and ‘LaagaChunari Mein Daag’, both of which did not create much of a roar at the box office. He played a critical role on the Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Don 2’, directed by FarhanAkhtar and he did receive a lot of appreciation for his role.
Coming to endorsements, Kunal Kapoor has endorsed numerous popular brands such as Ray Ban, Mahindra Logan, Thums Up and Indian terrain. He even voiced Rama, the Indian God in the film ‘MahayoddhaRama’which was directed by RaizadaRohitJaisingVaid. This animated mythological film is based on the Sanskrit Epic, Ramayana. Kunal Kapoor also dedicates a portion of his time to social activities which makes him a gem of a person. He, along with actress Gwyneth Paltrow are both presently the face of the well-known charitable organization named ‘Save the Children’. Though recently, most of his films did not do quite as well as he would have hoped he still continues to be very much selective about the kind of project he wishes to undertake and he does undertake that particular work after a considerable amount of research and analysis.
In the year 2009, Kunal Kapoor began writing in columns for HT City every week. HT City is the lifetime supplement of the famous newspaper, Hindustan Times. These articles can also be viewed online on Desimartini, the social network. Apart from writing articles, he is also a trained pilot and he flies as a hobby. He is also undertaking training for the national rally championship in an academy present on the outskirts of the city of Mumbai.
Some of his new and upcoming projects include the romantic comedy titled ‘Luv ShuvTey Chicken Khurana’; ‘Chamkila’ which is a biography of Amar Singh Chamkila, the controversial Punjabi singer; and finally theresAnuragKashyap’s movie in which he will be playing Raj Comic’s super hero ‘Doga’.
