Actors-turned-storytellers Kunal Kemmu and Soha Ali Khan talk about being inspired to write a book that their daughter would love to read
Actors Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Kemmu’s new book Inni & Bobo Find Each Other is the first in their children’s adventure series that talks about a friendship between a child and her adopted pet. Pic/Sameer Markande
How do you tell a story to a child? For actor-parents Kunal Kemmu and Soha Ali Khan, it took a bit of practice, and some nudging from their four-and-a-half-year-old daughter Inaaya. “She loves being read to, and enjoys looking at picture and storybooks,” says Kemmu, adding, “But, I realised that when reading out to her, I’d miss seeing how engaged she was with the story, because she’d be sitting on my lap and staring at the book. I wanted to look at her face while I narrated to her. So, I started creating stories from my imagination; it helped me understand how she reacts or what scares her.” The process of creating soon turned into a game of sorts, where little Inaaya would tell her dad about the characters she wanted to hear about, while he would weave tales around them. During one such occasion, Kemmu told her the story about a little girl, and an orphaned puppy, and how they met to become best friends. This was when the germ of the idea for Inni & Bobo Find Each Other (Puffins Books), their just-released illustrated book, took root.