TALKING SHOP WITH SIDDHARTH ROY KAPUR

The new-age film producer dissects the current state of Indian cinema, talks about the current trends and challenges, and provides a much-needed reality check on Indian's place in the global film market

- Ananya Ghosh

Siddharth Roy Kapur, whose diverse filmography includes The Lunchbox (2013), one of the most internationally acclaimed Hindi films of recent times on one hand and Dangal (2016), the highest grossing Indian film of all time on the other, is one of the most interesting film producers working in the industry today. The newly-minted member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been associated with six films officially chosen to represent India at the Oscars Rang De Basanti (2006), Taare Zameen Par (2008), Harishchandrachi Factory (2009), Peepli Live (2010), Barfi! (2012), and most recently Last Film Show (2022), and holds the distinction of having featured on Variety's annual list of the Top 500 Most Influential People in Global Entertainment for seven consecutive years between 2017 and 2023.

In fact, the eldest of the Roy Kupur brothers [actors Kunaal Roy Kapur and Aditya Roy Kapur are his siblings], had already made a name for himself as the managing director of The Walt Disney Company India, before starting his production house, Roy Kapur Films in 2017.

"It felt like a natural progression, moving on from Disney to start my own production house. It's something that I always had an aspiration to do. And it felt like just the right time after we released Dangal and we sort of went out on a high at Disney. It was a great opportunity to be able to move on to the next phase in my career," says the Founder and Managing Director of RKF whose upcoming ventures include Woh Ladki Hai Kahan?, a comedy featuring Taapsee Pannu and Pratik Gandhi, Deva, an action thriller starring Shahid Kapoor and Pooja Hegde, Matka King, a webseries starring Vijay Varma created by Nagraj Manjule, and the official adaptation of William Dalrymple's acclaimed 2019 bestseller, The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company.