Kunal, son of Bihar’s veteran Congress leader Buddhadev Singh, was once told by a theater director that acting was not in your hands. The matter touched the heart and he came to Mumbai. Kunal Singh has seen the era of Bhojpuri cinema when his films ran for 75 weeks (Platinum Jubilee) in theatres. Many of his films also celebrated Silver Jubilee (25 weeks) and Golden Jubilee (50 weeks) in theatres. There are many records in his name in the history of Bhojpuri cinema. A special meeting with Kunal Singh, who is active again in cinema after a gap of two decades.
How did you get your first break in cinema after radio and theatre?
This thing is of December 1977. I was determined to act. Father was a minister in Bihar government. All the family members were doctors, professors, engineers. I had to do something different. Girish Ranjan, the chief assistant director to veteran director Mrinal Sen, made his directorial debut with the film ‘Kal Hamara Hai’ and this is my first film. When this film celebrated its silver jubilee, producer Ashok Jain gave me a chance in the Bhojpuri film ‘Dharti Maiya’. Worked in Mohanji Prasad’s film ‘Hamar Bhauji’ which was also a silver jubilee and then came my second film ‘Ganga Kinare Mora Gaon’ with Ashok Jain which ran continuously for one year and four months in Kanhaiya Kalachitra Mandir, Varanasi. In Mumbai’s Minerva Talkies where ‘Sholay’ was screened, the film ran for five consecutive weeks.
You got a chance to work with Shatrughan Sinha in the film ‘Bihari Babu’ and you also contested against him?
After the film ‘Dharti Maiya’, the Bhojpuri film ‘Bihari Babu’ with Shatru Bhaiya was released in 1985. I have inherited politics and it is because of my commitment that I had to contest against him. Shatru Bhaiya is a very sweet person. He loves me a lot. I also respect him a lot. The elections did not affect our relations. He is a very lively person.
And, Padma Khanna?
It is my good fortune that I got a chance to work with artists like Nazir Hussain, Sujit Kumar, Padma Khanna, Chitragupt and Ramayan Tiwari, who are called the fathers of Bhojpuri cinema. Padma Khanna gave me the most affection. In every film of mine, she has been either in the role of mother or sister-in-law. I learned acting only by watching Sujit Kumar and Padma Khanna. The regret is that Padma Khanna, who took Bhojpuri cinema to heights, is now away from Bhojpuri cinema herself.
So many big giants kept coming in cinema from Bihar, but with this the condition of Bhojpuri cinema also continued to deteriorate, why so?
Our identity, our customs, our culture and our values, all these have disappeared from Bhojpuri cinema. Cinema of any regional language can progress only when women speaking that dialect or language come to watch those films. A cinema which women will not come to watch will never be successful. Women started moving away from Bhojpuri cinema in the 90s when it became difficult for women to leave the house there. A niche audience developed and the producers felt that this was the new audience for Bhojpuri. Obscene songs, obscene dialogues and obscene scenes started appearing in Bhojpuri cinema. This ruined Bhojpuri cinema.
