"Kunal (actor)" redirects here. For other uses, see Kunal (disambiguation).
Kunal
Birth nameKunal Singh
Birth date29 September 1976
Birth placeHaryana, India
Death date7 February 2008 (aged 31)
Death placeMumbai, Maharashtra, India
OccupationActor
OrganizationBalagiri (Film production company)
Years active1999–2008

Kunal Singh (29 September 1976 – 7 February 2008), known professionally as Kunal, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He is best known for his romantic role in Kathir's Kadhalar Dhinam (1999), which is his debut film.

Career

Kunal was born on 29 September 1976 in Haryana, India. He was introduced in Kathir's 1999 romantic Tamil film Kadhalar Dhinam, alongside Sonali Bendre, a popular Bollywood actress that time. Kunal played a young student who falls in love with Bendre's character over the internet. Due to Bendre's popularity in north India, the film was partially reshot and dubbed into Hindi as Dil Hi Dil Mein.

After the relative success of Kadhalar Dhinam, Kunal appeared in a series of successful Tamil films like Paarvai Ondre Pothume (2001) and Punnagai Desam (2002), the latter being his first multi-starrer film.

After co-starring with Manoj K. Bharathi in Varushamellam Vasantham (2002), Kunal then appeared in many flops like Pesadha Kannum Pesume, Enge Enadhu Kavithai and Unarchigal. Several of his later films were started and then shelved, like Nava's Nilavinilae opposite Vijayalakshmi, Kimu Kipi opposite Susan, and Rithik's Kadhalithal Anandam, which would have featured him alongside Livingston and Kausalya.[1][2][3][4] Moreover, two films which he had signed opposite actress Sherin Shringar, Jai Adithya's Kadhal Thiruda and Nanda's Thodu, were shot and unreleased.[5]

When he was unable to find roles as an actor, he served as assistant editor for several films and turned to producing.[6] Kunal's last Tamil film was Nanbanin Kadhali, which released in 2007.

Personal life

Kunal was married and had two children.[7] He was a black belt in karate.[8]

Death

On 7 February 2008, Kunal was found hanging from the ceiling in his Mumbai apartment. The apparent suicide was challenged by his father Rajendra Singh who claimed that the body showed signs of suspicious bruising. Actress Lavina Bhatia was detained by police in connection with his death, but she was later released after the police could not prove a motive. The police were unable to prove that anyone was present in Kunal's apartment at the time of his death and ruled out Bhatia as a suspect;[9] furthermore, Kunal had attempted suicide by slashing his wrists several months earlier. At the time of his death, Kunal was working on a Hindi film, Yogi, which was being produced by his newly formed production company Balagiri.[10][11] The case was referred to CBI and Prof T D Dogra of All India Institute of Medical Sciences. He examined the scene of crime along with CBI and opined in favour of suicide.[12]Moreover, the Bombay High Court had ordered the suspension of 2 cops for their shoddy probe in the actor's demise.[13]

Filmography

  • All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.
YearFilmRoleNotes
1999Kadhalar DhinamRaja
2000Dil Hi Dil MeinHindi film; partially reshot version of Kadhalar Dhinam
2001Paarvai Ondre PothumeVinodh
2002Punnagai DesamRaja
Varushamellam VasanthamRamesh
Pesadha Kannum PesumeVikram
Enge Enadhu KavithaiBabu
ArputhamArvind
2004Super DaRahul
2005Devathaiyai KandenBala
PesuvomaElango
Thirudiya IdhayathaiGanesh
Saadhuriyan
Sorry Enaku KalyanamayidichuVijay
2006UnarchigalLakshmi's husband
2007Nanbanin KadhaliSuryaprakash

References

  1. ^ "New Tamil films in the making". chennaionline.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Dinakaran". Archived 18 November 2004 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ "Behindwoods : Kunal is back". Archived 27 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Kunal as Krishnamoorthy!". Archived 16 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Behindwoods : Kadal thiruda with Gunal - Sherin". Archived 27 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  6. ^ Renni Abraham (8 February 2008). "I saw actor Kunal Singh hanging, says friend". Daily News & Analysis. Archived 26 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Bollywood mysteries that remain unsolved even today". The Times of India. 2016-09-10. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
  8. ^ "Sonali Bendre's co-star Kunal Singh: The mysterious demise at 31 that sparked foul play claims and a CBI probe". Moneycontrol. Archived 2025-07-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  9. ^ "Court orders CBI probe into actor's murder". The Times of India. 18 December 2009. Archived 19 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  10. ^ Jaidev Hemmady (8 December 2009). "Plot thickens in Bollywood murder mystery". Indian Express. Archived 11 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  11. ^ "Actor found dead in Lokhandwala flat". Indian Express. 8 February 2008. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  12. ^ "Bombay High Court, Ms.Lovina Pankaj Bhatia vs Central Bureau Of Investigation on 12 August, 2011". Bombay High Court. 12 August 2011. Archived 12 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  13. ^ "HC orders suspension of two cops for shoddy probe in actor's death". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 2026-04-02.