Actor Kunal Kemmu is all set to return as Inspector Abhay Pratap Singh in the third season of the crime-thriller 'Abhay'. The actor asserts that the upcoming season is darker and more intense as compared to the previous ones. It will start streaming on a digital platform from April 8. The Free Press Journal caught up with Kunal for an exclusive chat.
Kunal, who was also a part of the writing process of the show, says, "I was excited when they told me that we're going to go ahead and do another season because I enjoyed playing this part that I'd never played before. I had a great time, right from when we started writing this show, all the way through till we finished filming it."
Speaking about the crux of the show, he explains, "Besides the fact that it remains the same in a lot of ways because it starts exactly where season 2 ended. But with the new season comes new threats and new challenges. And the biggest one comes in the form of the character that Vijay Raaz (villain) is playing because not only is he playing a character, which is very different, but he also comes with a whole world."
Kunal enjoyed doing the action sequences for the show. "The good thing about the action in Abhay is that it's unlike the kind of action that you see. It's not very lavish, special effects, or VFX heavy. It's real and integral to the story. So it's really fun. And if you've seen the trailer, it kind of comes in the right places," he avers.
Asked if performing these action and intense scenes affected him personally, the actor says, "Not really. I have been an actor for some time. And I'm used to most of these things that come as a part of the job. I've been able to reach a place where I am a little more of a switch on and switch off kind of an actor. So while I enjoy being in that moment, which is so different from your reality and from everything that you're doing, I feel happy to come back to being Kunal Kemmu after the shot."
Kunal, who has consistently been in decent physical shape, talks about his appearance and look in the show. "Luckily, I was given a free hand when it came to designing the character of Abhay - physically and emotionally as a character. And I must say that with that great power came a great responsibility that while I have a certain understanding of this character, it had to resonate with the audiences also. He's a cop, and it's not like I trained harder or got bigger to play Abhay. But I wanted to look fit so that he looks like a cop who's on the job and can get into a fight. But aside from that, I wanted to wear a kadha. I actually enjoyed the kind of hairstyle that he does, and even the look, the kind of shoes and all of that because I just felt that, unlike a film, this is a space where you're not just going to play this character for a two-hour film, but this is going to be episodic."
On a parting note, he reveals how he reacted when he bagged the coveted role. "I was surprised when I was offered this part. I wanted to do something like this, but then I was doing so many comedies that I was beginning to doubt whether the world was just happy to see me doing comedies or that I'm not getting enough opportunities to do it. So when Abhay came to me, I was elated to accept it," he concludes.
