Kunal Vijayakar is an Indian TV personality, actor, and food enthusiast who is famous for running a YouTube channel called ‘Khaane Mein Kya Hai,’ with over 312K subscribers. He is also known for hosting India’s popular food show, ‘The Foodie – with Kunal Vijayakar.’ He has written food blogs in newspapers like The Times of India, Bombay Times, DNA, Asian Age, Mahanagar, and The Week. In 2023, he continues to write food blogs for Hindustan Times.
Wiki/Biography
Kunal Shrikrishna Vijayakar was born on Tuesday, 19 May 1964 (age 59 years; as of 2023) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. His zodiac sign is Taurus. He did his schooling in 1980 at St. Mary’s School, Mumbai. He pursued a bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai from 1983 to 1988. Kunal spent his childhood in Mazagon Docks, a well-known shipbuilding area in Mumbai because his father worked there as a marine engineer. According to an interview with Kunal’s mother, when he was a baby, he didn’t want milk and preferred to have pork roast instead.
Kunal Vijayakar as a child with his mother
During his school days, Kunal enjoyed lunch breaks the most. He always brought a lunchbox that remained hot till recess. From a young age, Kunal struggled with his studies and didn’t do well. He failed class 12 twice. In an interview, he mentioned that he disliked science and felt he wasted three years studying it. He wished he had pursued admission to JJ School of Art after completing grade 10. He had a passion for architecture, but his grades didn’t allow him to pursue it. In an interview, he shared that both his grandmothers, from his father’s and mother’s sides, used to cook various dishes for him during his childhood. This sparked his fascination with food. In the interview, he talked about this and said,
My paternal grandfather would get handwritten recipes from his sojourns across the globe so that my granny could try out a new dish. After my father’s demise, I lived with my maternal grandmother. Our house had a vegetarian kitchen and non-vegetarian kitchen, and she did most of the cooking for our joint family of 10 members.”
When he was young, he would go with his family to famous restaurants like Gaylord, Horseshoe, and Paradise in South Mumbai. At the age of 12, he cooked his first homemade dish, which was butter chicken. After trying butter chicken at Fountain Plaza and really enjoying it, he wanted to have it regularly, but it was too expensive. So, he decided to learn how to make it himself and started cooking it at home whenever he craved it.
Kunal Vijayakar when he was a youngster
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 5″
Weight (as of 2022): 86 kg
Hair Colour: Salt and Pepper
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Kunal’s father was a marine engineer.
Kunal Vijayakar’s father when he was young
His mother’s name is Nirmala, she died in 2017.
Kunal Vijayakar with his mother
He has a sister, Anjali.
Kunal Vijayakar with his sister
Wife & Children
As of 2023, he is unmarried.
Career
Kunal started his career by working in advertising and theatre. He spent 11 years at a well-known advertising company called Da Cunha Associates, where he worked as a copywriter and visualizer.
Theatre
During his time at the agency, he also acted in many English plays and appeared in numerous TV commercials. In the 1990s, Raell Padamsee, a well-known figure in Indian theatre, was creating a play for kids. She invited Kunal to try out for a part in the play. When he went for the audition, he met Cyrus Broacha who was the casting director, for the first time. During the script reading for the play “Alibaba and Bablu the Bear” in 1991, Cyrus didn’t think Kunal’s audition was great, but he believed Kunal’s appearance suited the role. In 2016, Kunal and Cyrus put on a show named ’40 Shades of Grey (Hair),’ which was a mix of stand-up comedy and theatre. The play revolved around the experiences of Indian men over the age of 40. In 2018, they collaborated on a memoir titled ‘How I Met Your Father’ which was based on their experiences and stories from their time together.
Kunal Vijayakar (left) with Cyrus Broacha (right) during one of their plays
Food blogging/vlogging
After quitting his job at the agency, he began writing columns named Fool’s Stop for the Bombay Times. Later, his editor-in-chief requested him to switch to writing about food instead of humour, which led him to create a food column named Cordon Blah. In 2006, while he was working at The Times of India, they introduced their television channel called Times Now. They asked Kunal to host a show named ‘The Foodie.’ For this show, he had to explore various places and enjoy different kinds of food. He accepted the opportunity, and this marked the beginning of his adventure in the world of food. The show turned out to be extremely popular, running continuously for nine years and showcasing almost 500 episodes. Throughout the show, he was seen travelling across the country, discovering and tasting distinctive and exceptional foods.
Kunal Vijayakar on the show ‘The Foodie’
In 2011, he began writing a humorous column titled “Funda Mental” for The Week magazine published every two weeks.
Film
Kunal made his acting debut with the film Duplicate in 1998.
Poster of the film ‘Duplicate’ (1998)
He has played small roles in several Hindi films, like Paisa Vasool (2004) and Salaam Namaste (2005) alongside Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta. In the movie Ghajini (2008), he played the role of a journalist. He also appeared as Kunal in the film Little Zizou (2009), which centred around the Parsi community. He also appeared in other Hindi films including Bollywood Calling (2001), Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003), Ab Tak Chhappan (2004), Jo Bole So Nihal (2005), 340 (2009), Guilty (2020), Hello Charlie (2021), and Shehzada (2023).
Poster of the film ‘Shehzada’
Television
He made his television debut with the show Baat Ban Jaaye in 1998 as Kunal on Zee TV.
Kunal Vijayakar in the TV show ‘Baat Ban Jaaye’
In 2006, he began his role as an actor, director, and political satirist on the humorous political show ‘The Week That Wasn’t’ on CNN News18. His partner in this venture was his good friend Cyrus Broacha. Kunal portrayed various characters like Mayawati, Jayalalitha, Usha Uthup, Sheila Dixit, Sushma Swaraj, Bappi Lahiri, Nitin Gadkari, Sharad Pawar, and Narendra Modi on the show.
Kunal Vijayakar as Sharad Pawar on the show ‘The Week That Wasn’t’
He teamed up with Cyrus Broacha for a comedy sketch show called “Cyrusitis,” which was written and directed by Broacha.
Director and Writer
In 1999, he directed the TV program ‘MTV Bakra’ on MTV.
Poster of the show ‘MTV Bakra’
In 2009, he wrote the script and directed the comedy movie ‘Fruit and Nut.’ The film featured Dia Mirza, Cyrus Broacha, Boman Irani, and Mahesh Manjrekar. While the film didn’t become very popular, it strengthened the friendship between Kunal and actor Boman Irani. Kunal mentioned in an interview that Boman acted in the movie without charging any money.
Poster of the film ‘Fruit and Nut’ (2009)
Other Ventures
In 2014, he established a company called ‘A Fracas Entertainment Private Limited’ in Mumbai. He is the director of this company. In 2015, he wrote his first cookbook, titled ‘Made In India,’ which was published by Jaico.
Cover of the cookbook written by Kunal Vijayakar
He founded the Kunal Vijayakar’s Academy for Culinary Arts in Mumbai. This academy teaches students about food safety, various cooking techniques, different types of cuisines, and even how to present food attractively.
YouTube
In 2020, he launched a YouTube channel called ‘Khaane Mein Kya Hai’ with about 312K subscribers in 2023. In 2023, Kunal had Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a guest on his show ‘Khaane Mein Kya Hai?’ They were shown enjoying dishes like Delhi’s chole bhature, kebabs, and mohabbat ka sharbat.
Kunal Vijayakar on his YouTube channel with Rahul Gandhi
Awards, Honours, Achievements
In 2015, he received Indian Television Academy Award.
Car Collection
He owns a Mercedes ML 250 and an i10.
Favourites
- Cuisine: Malaysian Peranakan
- Champagne: Bollinger Brut Rose
- Cocktail: Scotch with Drambuie and crushed ice
- Footwear: Rubber slippers
- TV Show: Downton Abbey (2010)
- Holiday destination: London
Facts/Trivia
- Kunal follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Kunal Vijayakar eating chicken
- In an interview, Kunal talked about making jokes about politicians and said,
Politics has been a perennial source of humour and whoever is in power or out of power, there is always some rubbish going on and there is always enough fodder for humour. I must say, though, that we have never fallen short of subject matter as far as humour is concerned. When it comes to Indian politics or current affairs, there is enough nonsense. There is always some joker or the other doing something really stupid.”
- Kunal has played many female characters on TV and on stage. When asked about this in an interview, he explained that his family had many talented artists including his father’s uncle, a famous Marathi stage actor, who only performed female characters. Kunal saw his pictures wearing sarees and was inspired by him.
- In 2023, he appeared as a guest on the reality show Bigg Boss OTT Season 2, alongside food vlogger Devashree Sanghvi.
Kunal Vijayakar on the show ‘Bigg Boss OTT Season 2’ with Salman Khan
- Kunal and Cyrus have been friends for more than thirty years. At the beginning of Kunal’s career when he did theatre, he used to smoke heavily, as per Cyrus. The two of them have been taken into custody three times for crossing police barriers while they were drunk. In an interview, Kunal mentioned that he ended many relationships on behalf of Cyrus because Cyrus was uncomfortable doing it himself. Cyrus revealed that Kunal’s phone is always set to a loud ringtone and never on silent or vibration mode, which is something that irritates Cyrus greatly.
An old picture of Kunal Vijayakar with Cyrus Broacha during one of their plays
- Kunal has a persistent cough due to his past smoking habit, even though he has quit smoking. However, he is frequently seen enjoying alcohol in his social media updates.
Kunal Vijayakar’s Facebook post consuming alcohol
- He tends to adopt the behaviours and characteristics of others, but it’s not easy for him to let go of them quickly.
- In an interview, Kunal shared that he used to take sleeping pills for a long time.
- Kunal is often spotted wearing shorts when he films reviews or visits different restaurants.
- According to him, his home is like an art gallery, with Buddha statues and walls adorned with paintings. Some of the artworks are his own creations, while others are prints by renowned artists like MF Husain and FN Souza.
- He had the opportunity to cook alongside MasterChef Australia judge Matt Preston during an event.
- Kunal also had a stint working as a salesperson for latex underwear for a period.
- In 2022, Kunal managed to shed more than 20 kgs of weight without relying on diets or workouts. Instead, he utilized a technology-based method called The NeuroLeap personalized brain enhancement program. This approach focused on enhancing his subconscious brain functions, leading to weight loss.
A collage of Kunal Vijayakar’s pictures before (left) and after (right) lossing 20 kilos of weight
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
