Kunal Vijayakar is an Indian television personality, actor and food enthusiast, best known for running a YouTube channel called “Khaane Mein Kya Hai” which has over 312,000 subscribers. He is also known for hosting the popular Indian food show “The Foodie – with Kunal Vijayakar”. He has written food blogs in newspapers such as Times of India, Bombay Times, DNA, Asian Age, Mahanagar and The Weekly. In 2023, he continued writing a food blog for Hindustan Times.
Wiki/Biography
Kunal Shrikrishna Vijayakar was born on Tuesday, May 19, 1964, in Mumbai, Maharashtra (age 59; as of 2023). His zodiac sign is Taurus. In 1980, he attended St. Mary’s School, Mumbai. From 1983 to 1988, he pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Sir JJ College of Art, Mumbai. Kunal spent his childhood in Mazagon Docks, Mumbai’s famous shipbuilding district, as his father worked as a marine engineer there. According to an interview with Kunal’s mother, Kunal did not want milk as a child and preferred to eat roast pork.
Kunal Vijayakar as a child with his mother
During his school days, Kunal enjoyed his lunch breaks the most. He always brought a lunch box that was still warm until recess. Kunal had difficulty in learning since he was a child and his grades were not good. He failed class 12 twice. In an interview, he mentioned that he did not like science and felt that he had wasted three years studying science. He hopes to attend JJ Art College after completing Grade 10. He was passionate about architecture, but his grades did not allow him to pursue this. He revealed in an interview that during his childhood, his father and mother’s grandmothers cooked various dishes for him. This sparked his fascination with food. In the interview, he talked about this and said:
My grandfather would get handwritten recipes from his travels around the world so my grandma could try a new dish. After my father died, I lived with my grandmother. We have a vegetarian kitchen and a non-vegetarian kitchen in our house and she does most of the cooking for our family of ten. “
When he was young, he would go to famous restaurants such as Gaylord, Horseshoe, and Paradise in south Mumbai with his family. At the age of 12, he cooked his first home-cooked dish – butter chicken. After trying butter chicken at Fountain Square and liking it so much, he wanted to eat it more often, but it was too expensive. So, he decided to learn how to cook it himself and started cooking it at home whenever he wanted.
Kunal Vijayakar as a young man
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 5″
Weight (as of 2022): 86 kg
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Kunal’s father is a marine engineer.
Kunal Vijayakar’s father as a young man
His mother, Nirmala, died in 2017.
Kunal Vijayaka and his mother
He has a sister, Anjali.
Kunal Vijayakar and his sister
wife and children
As of 2023, he is not married yet.
Profession
Kunal started his career in advertising and theatre. He worked for a well-known advertising agency called Da Cunha Associates for 11 years as a copywriter and visual effects artist.
theater
During his time with the company, he also acted in many English plays and appeared in many television commercials. In the 1990s, Raell Padamsee, a well-known figure in the Indian theater industry, was creating a children’s drama. She invited Kunal to audition for a role in the show. When he went to audition, he met casting director Cyrus Broacha for the first time. In 1991, when reading the script for the play “Alibaba and Bablu the Bear,” Cyrus didn’t think Kunal’s audition was good, but he thought Kunal’s appearance was suitable for the role. In 2016, Kunal and Cyrus performed a show called “40 Shades of Gray (Hair),” which blended stand-up comedy and drama. The show revolves around the experiences of Indian men over the age of 40. In 2018, they collaborated on a memoir, How I Met Your Father, based on their experiences and stories together.
Kunal Vijayakar (left) and Cyrus Broacha (right) perform a play
Food Blog/Vlog
After resigning from the agency, he started writing a column called “Fool’s Station” for Bombay Times. Later, his editor asked him to write about food instead of humor, which led him to create a food column called Cordon Blah. In 2006, when he was working at Times of India, they launched a television channel called Times Now. They invited Kunal to host a show called Foodie. For the show, he got to explore different places and enjoy different foods. He accepted the opportunity and it marked the beginning of his adventure in the world of food. The show was so popular that it ran for nine years and nearly 500 episodes. Throughout the show, he is seen traveling the country discovering and tasting unique and unique foods.
Kunal Vijayakar in the show Foodie
In 2011, he began writing a humor column titled “Funda Mental” for the biweekly magazine The Week.
Movie
In 1998, Kunal made his acting debut with the film Replica.
Movie “Replica” poster (1998)
He has played small roles in several Hindi films such as Paisa Vasool (2004) and Salaam Namaste (2005) with Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta. In the film Ghajini (2008), he played a journalist. He also played Kunal in the film Little Zizou (2009), which centered on the Parsi community. He has 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 Shezada (2023).
Movie “Sheikhzada” poster
television
He made his television debut in 1998 playing the role of Kunal in Zee TV’s Baat Ban Jaaye.
Kunal Vijayakar in TV show “Baat Ban Jaaye”
In 2006, he began working as an actor, director and political satirist on CNN News18’s humorous political program “The Week That Wasn’t.” His partner in this adventure is his good friend Cyrus Broacha. Kunal played various characters including Mayawati, Jayalalitha, Usha Uthup, Sheila Dixit, Sushma Swaraj, Bappi Lahiri, Nitin Gadkari, Sharad Pawar and Narendra Modi in the show.
Kunal Vijayakar plays Sharad Pawar in the show ‘The Week That Didn’t Exist’
He collaborated with Cyrus Broacha on a sketch comedy show called “Cyrusitis,” which was written and directed by Broacha.
Director and screenwriter
In 1999, he directed the TV show “MTV Bakra” on MTV.
Poster for the show “MTV Bakra”
In 2009, he wrote and directed the comedy film “Fruits and Nuts”. The film stars Dia Mirza, Cyrus Broacha, Boman Irani and Mahesh Manjrekar. Although the film was not a huge hit, it strengthened the friendship between Kunal and actor Boman Irani. Kunal mentioned in an interview that Boman acted in the film without any fee.
Movie “Fruits and Nuts” poster (2009)
Other companies
In 2014, he established a company called “A Fracas Entertainment Private Limited” in Mumbai. He is a director of this company. In 2015, he wrote his first cookbook titled Made in India, published by Jaico.
Recipe cover written by Kunal Vijayakar
He founded the Kunal Vijayaka Institute of Culinary Arts in Mumbai. This college teaches students food safety, various cooking techniques, different types of dishes, and even how to present food in an attractive way.
Youtube
In 2020, he launched a YouTube channel called “Khaane Mein Kya Hai” which had about 312,000 subscribers by 2023. In 2023, Kunal invited Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a guest on his show “Khaane Mein Kya Hai?” They are enjoying dishes like Delhi’s chole bhature, kebabs and mohabbat ka sharbat.
Kunal Vijayakar on his YouTube channel with Rahul Gandhi
Awards, Honors, Achievements
In 2015, he won the Indian Television Academy Award.
car collection
He owns a Mercedes ML 250 and an i10.
Favorites
- Cuisine: Malaysian Peranakan cuisine
- Champagne: Bollinger Rose Brut
- 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 Vijayaka eats chicken
- In an interview, Kunal talked about making fun of politicians and said:
Politics has always been a source of humor, no matter who is in power or out of office, there is always some shit going on and there is always enough fodder for humor. But I must say, as far as humor goes, we’ve never been short of themes. There is enough nonsense when it comes to Indian politics or current affairs. There’s always some joker, or another person doing something really stupid. “
- Kunal has played many female characters on television and stage. When asked about this in an interview, he explained that his family had many talented artistes, including his father’s uncle who was a famous Marathi stage actor who only performed female roles. Kunal sees his picture in a saree and gets inspired by him.
- In 2023, he appeared as a guest in the reality show Bigg Boss OTT Season 2 along with food vlogger Devashree Sanghvi.
Kunal Vijayakar joins Salman Khan in show ‘Bigg Boss OTT Season 2’
- Kunal and Cyrus have been friends for more than thirty years. According to Cyrus, Kunal smoked regularly during the early days of his theater career. The two were detained three times for crossing police lines while drunk. In an interview, Kunal mentioned that he ended many relationships on behalf of Cyrus because Cyrus himself felt uncomfortable doing so. Cyrus revealed that Kunal’s phone was always set to a loud ringtone and was never set to silent or vibrate mode, much to Cyrus’ annoyance.
An old photo of Kunal Vijayakar and Cyrus Broacha while performing a play
- Although Kunal has quit smoking, he still suffers from a persistent cough due to his past smoking habit. However, he is often seen drinking in his social media updates.
Kunal Vijayakar posts on Facebook about drinking alcohol
- He tends to adopt the behaviors and characteristics of others but does not readily abandon them.
- Kunal revealed in an interview that he used to take sleeping pills for a long time.
- Kunal is often spotted wearing shorts while shooting for reviews or visiting different restaurants.
- According to him, his home is like an art gallery with Buddha statues inside and paintings hanging on the walls. Some of the artworks are his own creations, while others are prints by famous artists such as MF Husain and FN Souza.
- At an event, he had the opportunity to cook with MasterChef Australia judge Matt Preston.
- Kunal also worked as a latex underwear salesman for a while.
- In 2022, Kunal managed to lose over 20 kilograms without relying on diet or exercise. Instead, he utilized a technology-based approach called the NeuroLeap Personalized Brain Enhancement Program. The focus of this approach was to enhance his subconscious brain function, resulting in weight loss.
Photo collage of Kunal Vijayakar before (left) and after (right) losing 20 kg weight
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education