Comedy is something that is easily palatable: Kunal Kemmu

Mumbai: Kunal Kemmu had set out to test his writing skills with ‘Madgaon Express’ and little did he imagine the endeavour would evolve into a feature film that would also give him the opportunity to step into the director’s role. No one knew that Kemmu was developing the script for the comedy film, which was released in theatres on Friday and has been praised by the critics.

“I didn’t even know this would become a film. This writing was just like a practice session for me to see if I could do it. It was a solitary process that I went through and no one knew that I was writing it. I thought, ‘If it ever gets made, maybe I’ll play one of the boys’. That’s the intent with which I wrote it,” the actor told the top news agency.

‘Madgaon Express’ follows the journey of three childhood friends - played by Gandhi, Divyenndu and Tiwary - who embark on a trip to Goa that goes completely off-track.

Kemmu said that he first got the idea for ‘Madgaon Express’ when he was working on the zombie comedy movie ‘Go Goa Gone’ (2015). A common friend at Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s production banner, ‘Excel Entertainment’, heard the narration in 2021 and decided to produce the movie. The actor said he decided to start his directing career with a light-hearted film, as the genre is one of the most watched worldwide.

“Comedy is something that is easily palatable and it’s one of the most watched genres in the world. As an actor, I’ve gotten so much love for comedies. Also, it was easy to say that he is good at comedy. ‘Let’s at least read what he’s written in comedy’. I’m blessed that I got the opportunity,” Kemmu, 40, said.

According to the makers, ‘Madgaon Express’ earned Rs 1.63 crore on the opening day at the domestic box office. “The first agenda of something theatrical has to be entertainment because that’s why a person is leaving his home, driving to this place and spending that money to get entertained. If you’re not going to entertain him, then there is no point,” the first-time director said.

Despite his fondness for comedy, Kemmu said that he doesn’t want to limit himself to the genre as a filmmaker. “I’m not limited by comedy, not even as an actor and definitely hope not as a filmmaker. As an actor, I can tell you what it feels like to do a comedy, but as a director, this is so new for me and I’ve enjoyed it. I don’t know what the experience of making something else would be like.”