There is one piece of advice Kunal Thakur keeps close to his heart, “There is no right time and no right age to start something you truly want.” This piece of advice is very rightly quoted and apt for all those who aspire to work in the Acting Industry. This mantra is why today we see Kunal Thakur shining in the acting field. He is well-known for his role as Kamal in the movie Kabir Singh.
Early Life
Born on 12 July 1988 in Abu Dhabi, UAE and brought up in Dubai, UAE is the talented and hardworking actor Kunal Thakur. His family has three other members, father Sachanand Thakur who is a businessman, mother Lata Thakur is a homemaker and his brother Nitin Thakur works as a senior assistant. He completed his schooling at The Abu Dhabi Indian School. Furthermore, he pursued his Graduation from Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce and Post Graduation from Royal Holloway-University of London.
The Acting Spark
Kunal has been fond of Indian Cinema and TV shows right from his childhood, regardless of his residence place, Abu Dhabi. He was a kid who used to binge-watch movies and TV shows because he was crazy for them. As a kid, he was restless and inquisitive to know everything.
Before making his mark in the Bollywood industry, Kunal Thakur had a full-time job in media marketing and planning for Six years. He used to work for an agency. A few years back, one day he came to Delhi, India at that time he was watching the film Bajrangi Bhaijaan in the plane at odd time when everyone was sleeping that shows his love for movies. His agency was working for that film and boom. That was time the era, the feel, and surroundings hit him hard. He realized that he never wants to lose this feeling.
Without any professional training or course, he had the ability to understand any given situation or story that was narrated to him. This is not everyone’s cup of tea.
The Big Leap
After this incident, he could feel it in his nerves that he wants to pursue Acting as a career. He took a big leap and moved to Mumbai without any assurance or break lead in the industry. Living in Mumbai was not a cakewalk for him. He had a difficult time adjusting to the weather of the city and sometimes also coping with different roles. For example, being flexible for any role, gaining or losing weight for the role, or always being fit and fine and being prepared for any time and any schedule of work.
During his initial strenuous time in the city, he participated in different acting workshops because he wanted to be well-groomed and prepped before entering the big world of acting. Like any other aspiring actor, Kunal also auditioned for different TV shows and films where there were hundreds of other people competing for the same role. He also waited in addition queue for 3-4 hours straight.
Kunal got his first break from Montage ad film with Myntra in 2017. Then he did Ragini MMS Returns in 2017-2018. That same year, 2018, he did a project Kasautii Zindagii Kay with Balaji Telefilms, and a web series called Hum- I’m because of us, starred opposite Kushal Tondon, Riddhima Pandit, and Karishma Sharma. Then came the big break- Kabir Singh in 2019, Kunal Thakur was cast with Shahid Kapoor. He played Kamal, Kabir’s friend in the movie. He then did Grim Reaper Inc in 2020 before lockdown. He now has 3 music videos out on the floor. We have to agree that Kunal has had his fair share of struggles and hurdles before reaching this famous level.
Opinions and Further Journey
Kunal Thakur’s family has always been supportive and encouraging for all his dreams and career choices. Sometimes it is difficult to explain to them the lifestyle and work life. But no matter what, they have always been his backbone and strength.
After working on some projects, Kunal Thakur has the opinion that the acting industry is very welcoming and is such a place where everyone is awarded work according to their capabilities. He also says that people are pretty open-minded, accommodative, and respectful. His future plans and wishes are to work in good films and act in good roles. Also, he desires to work with Rajkumar Rao, Manoj Bajpai, Kumud Mishra, Tillotama Shome, Mrunal Thakur, and all the other young and talented people in the industry.
Kunal holds a firm belief in the saying, “ Where there is a will, there is a way!” He says that if you want to pursue something as your career and you are truly passionate about it, there is only one thing you need- Confidence.
I’m so in love with this. You did a great job!!