. His maternal grandparents, Geoffrey Kendal and Laura Kendal, were actors who toured India and Asia with their theatre group, Shakespeareana, performing Shakespeare and Shaw. The Merchant Ivory film, "Shakespeare Wallah", was loosely based on the family, which starred his father and his aunt, actress Felicity Kendal. Karan later moved towards photography and decided to be a part of this profession though he worked as an actor too.