The trailer for Kunal Kemmu’s upcoming directorial, Vibe, elicited a lot of laughter and chuckles from the audience. Its jokes, set up, and the actor’s own comic timing were praised. But what many noted were a couple of Easter eggs, seemingly connecting the film to Kunal’s previous directorial Madgaon Express, as well as his cult zombie comedy Go Goa Gone. In a chat with Hindustan Times, Kunal talks about Vibe and whether he is indeed building a cinematic universe, as many suspect.
Kunal Kemmu Cinematic Universe?
Vibe’s trailer introduces Kunal as an aimless young man living with Sparsh Shrivastava, his younger and more focused friend. At one point, Sparsh’s character refers to Kunal’s character as Hardik, who once had a bad drug overdose and confused Goa for Pondicherry and Mumbai for Bangalore. The one line is a small hint at two Kunal films. In Go Goa Gone, Kunal’s character was named Hardik, and he was a stoner. In Go Goa Gona, the actor appeared in a cameo as an unnamed man who, in a drug-fuelled daze, confused Goa for Pondicherry and Mumbai for Bangalore.
When we ask if these are mere Easter eggs or if he has bigger plans of connecting the films, Kunal says, “In my head, a lot of plans are happening. But plans that get executed are the ones you take credit for. That is, if it eventually happens. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I have certain ideas in my head. If I see a direction for them, I can always mould them.”
Comedy is a serious business
Kunal has acted in comedies and is now directing. But he says he cannot choose between the two. “They are both equally difficult,” he says, adding, “A lot of it is a leap of faith. What you think is funny may not be funny. You have to be instinctive, and you have to have confidence in that instinct.”
{{/usCountry}}Kunal has acted in comedies and is now directing. But he says he cannot choose between the two. “They are both equally difficult,” he says, adding, “A lot of it is a leap of faith. What you think is funny may not be funny. You have to be instinctive, and you have to have confidence in that instinct.”
{{/usCountry}}The actor-filmmaker has often said that he finds comedy ‘a serious business’, as it is very technical to shoot. He explains, “It is technical. On set, if you expect that when I do this scene, everybody will laugh, it may not happen. And if they don’t laugh, you can’t think it didn’t land. That is not always guaranteed. We had a very serious set when we shot some of what I hope will be our funniest scenes. Nobody is laughing. Somebody from outside may wonder if it is a funny film. It was the same with Madgaon Express. Barring that scene where Pratik snorts all that coke since it was so over-the-top, there were no laughs on set.”
All about Vibe
The cast of Vibe also includes Preity Zinta, Vanshika Dhir, Dinesh Lal Yadav, and Yashpal Sharma, among others. Produced by Kunal Kemmu and Chirag Nihalani under their production banner Drongo Films, in association with Amazon MGM Studios, Vibe will be out in cinemas on September 18.
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