Rajat Kapoor on crowd funding his next film RK/ R KAY, scarcity of producers, and his passion for writing

Rajat Kapoor has whimsical stories to tell. He is a focused and talented director and is without doubt, a passionate filmmaker. But there is one tiny hitch – he has a hard time finding producers to invest in his work.

The actor, screenwriter and director’s recent project RK/ R KAY faces a similar predicament but this time around, he has made up his mind to make the film happen. A crowd sourcing initiative to raise money for producing this venture seems to be the way to go.

Post-Ankhon Dekhi & setting up RK/R Kay

It was in 2014 that the 57-year-old directed Ankhon Dekhi, and since then he has been lugging around four scripts from producer to producer, from big studios to independent filmmakers, but nothing has been green lit.

“And that is a long time, waiting to make your next film. One could grow old in 4 years,” he says. Kapoor has previously helmed six films including Mithya, Fatso! and Mixed Doubles had set himself a deadline for finding a producer. “If I don’t find a producer by this date, we’d go crowd funding,” he had said at the time.

Even though the director candidly admits that the response has been slower than what he would have expected, he says the campaign is moving steadily.

“One gentleman from Bangalore, whom I do not know, has given 5 lakhs. Can you believe it?” he informs. Over 750 people have contributed so far to the film, and as of now, have helped raise over ₹34 lakhs. Some contributors have pitched in 5,000, 1000, or even 500 rupees for RK/ R KAY.

What’s the film about and how is it being crowd-sourced?

RK/ R KAY is a film within a film. The feature is a quirky story of a director, RK, who finds himself in soup when the protagonist of his film disappears from the reel and steps into the real. His film isn’t shaping up the way he would’ve wanted it to and RK must now find his lead and send him back to shoot the rest of the film.

This is not the first time that Kapoor has taken the road less travelled to make a movie. He had previously funded the National Award winning feature Raghu Romeo, by sending emails to his friends asking for money.

Suffice to say that Kapoor has a staunch circle. This time too, he has received generous contributions from his friends for RK/R KAY. Then there are few others, who, despite not being very well acquainted with the filmmaker, have “given money as a gesture of faith or good will, or just out of love.”

“And the love keeps pouring in,” he says, as the figures on the right hand side of Mithya Talkies’ crowd funding page indicate a rise with each passing day. Kapoor’s team has also diligently jotted down the production details on their page for all contributors, that throw light on the allocation of funds for production.

“I hope the film is something special so that everyone who is associated with it will feel proud; that will be their reward,” Kapoor says.

“But this does not make me stressed, or faced with a bigger burden,” says the actor who made his directorial debut with the 1997 feature, Private Detective. He adds, “I would in any case make every film that I make to the best of my abilities – whether there was one producer who put in the money or 10,000.”

The Kapoor and Ranvir Shorey-starrer is scheduled to be shot over nearly 30 days with three months of pre-production and four more months post shoot for editing and mixing.

What’s next for Rajat Kapoor?

Kapoor shot into mainstream after his stint in Farhan Akhtar’s super hit film, Dil Chahta Hai and has also given splendid performances in indie films such as Monsoon Wedding and Bheja Fry among others. He most recently appeared in the Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt and Fawad Khan-starrer Kapoor and Sons.

Along with RK/ R KAY, Kapoor’s other projects include Amar – a gangster film, and Mathura Mein Ta-Ta-Thaiya, a film on an amateur theatre group. He has already wrapped up the shoot for Kadhak, a film about a couple with lots of guests and a dead body in their house.

Kapoor will also be seen in Anubhav Sinha’s courtroom drama Mulk, starring Taapsee Pannu and Rishi Kapoor.

Even as he works on films, Kapoor is disciplined about his writing because working on his stories is the only thing that keeps him sane. Kapoor started watching films at the age of 14 and it is the desire to make films that keeps him going. “I have many stories to tell,” he says.

Kapoor’s crowd sourcing campaign will be on for 24 more days and he awaits a total funding of around 2.5 crores.