The last time Kunal Kapoor won hearts with his performance was when he portrayed the role of the captain of the Indian Hockey Team in the film Gold. Through his choice of roles, Kunal has always offered something new to his audience, and with the Yoodlee Films’ Noblemen that releases next Friday, the actor is once again surprising his audience with an unconventional role.
Act alert
Kunal plays a drama teacher in this story that explores bullying in schools. “My character, Murli, has an unorthodox way of teaching, something which constantly brings him in conflict with the system and the other teachers. There is very little that the other teachers or students know about him, so there is a sense of mystery about who he is and where he comes from. But he is everyone‘s favourite,” says the actor.
Kunal who has worked for the first time with children and teenagers, says this film belongs to the kids. However, to be able to build a chemistry with the child artistes, Kunal and all other actors got together for a workshop before the film went on floors. “I think the most important thing was to bond with the kids. Luckily, during the workshop, we got time to hang out with each other. What was challenging was I had just finished a film called Veeram, for which I had gained a lot of muscle to play a warrior. Vandana (Kataria, director) wanted me to look more like the guy next door. So I had to lose a lot of that to fit into this part,” says the actor.
Disturbing things
The film’s trailer shows some disturbing visuals of bullying behind the doors in schools. Although there are scenes of a regular day, there is a significant number of visuals showing the dark side of teenage years at school.
Kunal’s character, Murli, has both these shades of black and white. Talking about the concept and idea, the actor shares, “The script has a very unique voice, it deals with issues such as bullying, societal pressure and conforming to the set notions of manhood and toxic masculinity. These are things we should be talking about, but unfortunately, we don’t. This has been captured in Noblemen in a way that is hard-hitting and gripping. The sad part is that the violence shown in the film is actually what happens.”
Going forward, the actor will be seen in some interesting projects and one of these is Koi Jaane Na. Kunal says this film has a lot of romance and action, and he is looking forward to it.
“It’s the sort of movie I’ve been waiting for. I have a chance to discover and portray a part of myself, that I haven’t had a chance to bring forth. I usually don’t chase people for a role, but for this one, I did. I really wanted to be part of this film. Besides that I’m also developing scripts. I’ve been writing ideas since I started of as an assistant 20 years ago. And now to see those ideas come to life, is so satisfying. My first film as a writer and actor goes into production soon,” reveals the actor.