Mumbai: Actor Kunal Kemmu, whose family recently underwent a horrific incident when his brother-in-law Saif Ali Khan was stabbed, opened up on another similar incident from 12 years back, and explained what he learned from all these mishaps.
Last month, Saif was attacked by an intruder, later identified as Mohd Shariful Islam Shehzad, who allegedly entered his home intending to commit theft. During a violent confrontation, Saif sustained stab wounds to his thoracic spine and other parts of his body. He was rushed to Lilavati Hospital for immediate treatment.
In a conversation with ANI, Kunal recalled going through a similar situation 12 years back, and said, "Unfortunately, I was in a similar situation about 12 years ago when there was a break-in Soha's (Soha Ali Khan) house, and I was there. And again, there was a burglary. I happened to wake up in time to fight the guy, catch him, and take him to the police station."
The incident pertains to 2011 when Kunal Kemmu and Soha Ali Khan were dating each other. A burglary attempt was carried out at Soha's Khar flat. When the couple heard an unusual voice, Kunal went in and saw the robber attempting to break into the residence. As the robber tried to flee and lost his balance, Kunal rushed downstairs, overpowered him and handed him to the police.
However, reflecting on the multiple crime incidents in Mumbai, he stressed that these are isolated incidents, and doesn't necessarily mean that the city is 'unsafe'.
"These are those one or two incidences that will happen. We'll have to be careful. You can't say that the city is safe, so I can lie down in the street with jewellery, and nothing's going to happen. So we have to protect ourselves and our family to the best of the ways that we can. Other than that, these are some of those freak incidents that keep happening. But am I going to say that I feel unsafe in the city? No, I don't. I think that Bombay still continues to be a very safe city to live in. These freak incidents happen everywhere," Kunal further said.
"Even this, eventually, what you realize is that this guy didn't know whose house he was entering. He had walked the floors, found one open window, and gotten into that. And so it is a burglary that went wrong and I don't know what led to him to kind of attack in the brutal manner that he did," he added.
He stressed the fact that taking precautions is most necessary and that can ensure personal safety.
"I can't speak for everybody. And I always feel that you need to take all the necessary precautions no matter where you are. So those need to be taken. Now beyond that, sometimes things will happen. It's like you get into a road accident. Not necessarily was it always your fault, but sometimes it just happens. These are freak incidents. So this happens. But if you're not wearing a helmet and sitting on that bike, you're also partly to be blamed. So you need to take all the necessary precautions that you can and then hope nothing happens," he said.
The actor added, "I think everybody's learned from this. I know that it's become a chatter in all societies around the buildings. Everybody's re-looking at their security system Unfortunately, we sometimes wait for something like this to happen to kind of set an example. It's just, I just feel like we're lucky that it's not been, I mean, everybody's safe."
The 'Dhol' actor shared that he believes in taking precautions at every step, and that's the best way to live your life.
"I have genuinely always kind of taken all the precautions that I possibly think are there. So, that's remained the same. You take a learning from this. The most that we did was, make sure that the CCTV in our building were actually functioning. And if you're staying on a lower floor, then sometimes, just for extra protection, you call it whatever. In biking, there's a saying that you invest in the right gear, even if it's expensive, hoping that you never have to use it. But the day you have to use it, that's what's going to save your life. So I think that's the best way of living your life. You take all the precautions that you think are necessary. "
"Of course, some people take this to the other level. You don't need to live in jail, at the end of the day, because then there's no quality of life," he added.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Kunal is known for his roles in films such as 'Raja Hindustani', 'Kalyug', 'Traffic Signal', 'Golmaal 3', 'Blood Money', 'Golmaal Again', and 'Lootcase'. He was last seen in 'Madgaon Express'. (ANI)