Rahman, Kapur are partners in progress

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For every young Indian talented musician, photographer, script-writer and filmmaker making a mark globally, there are a million others waiting for a break. Not everyone gets the right exposure, guidance or scope.

To provide a suitable platform to newbies and hone the talent pool available, two of the most celebrated creative minds of India, Shekhar Kapur and A.R. Rahman launched their social media platform, Qyuki. It plans to engage Indian youth in a journey of creative self-discovery and showcase new media premier content.
“Few years ago, I realised that around my residence area in Mumbai, there might be around 100 Shekhar Kapurs waiting to make films that gain widespread recognition. But they do not have access to the right medium. Social media has managed to shrink the world and has tremendous scope. We decided to start a certain idea specific social media platform, where you can upload your content, get mentored and release your production,” explains Kapur, co-founder, Qyuki.
Striving to build a creative community, Kapur has already created two animation flicks for it, Warlord and Animalocity. In addition, it also premieres Moments in Motion, an initiative by Kapur to curate footages submitted by users and co-create ‘moments’ that highlight slices of life.
One can upload videos, photographs, songs, scripts, graphic art or any creative pursuit on Qyuki and get mentored by Imtiaz Ali, Ranjit Barot, Suresh Natarajan, Chetan Bhagat, Shekhar and Rehman.
“Shekhar Kapur has been my guru. At a time when I was producing music within set parameters, he broadened my perspective and introduced me to Western music. He compelled me to think more and produce music that I never knew I could. I am sure there are many others out there, waiting for this sort of guidance,” adds Rahman.
Melange, premiered at Qyuki, is content created by young musicians at KM Music Conservatory, a venture started by Rahman himself to establish a tradition in western classical music in India.
Talking about the need for such platform, Shekhar says, “I want youngsters to shoot videos or click shots without being burdened by the idea of being somebody. They should just do it because they love to. I don’t have the liberty to do so, as I am bound by script or story. But youngsters should have freedom to do so.”