RK/R KAY - CROWD-PRODUCED FEATURE FILM BY RAJAT KAPOOR

All you wonderful people, some whom I know - some I have never met;
Some of you who are friends, some who will be friends some day;
Some of you that I have had the pleasure of collaborating, and others whose work and lives I have admired;
You film buffs, lovers of cinema and casual but enlightened film goer..
So many of you who have commented earlier about Ankhon Dekhi or Mithya and wondered why we don't make more films like these.

I ask you for your support.
I have been trying to raise money through conventional sources for the last three years, and that has not worked.
But that does not mean that I won’t make a film.
I will, only the funds will not be raised through conventional means.

I know, many of you have wanted to be a part of this independent cinema movement, or wondered what you could do to help but did not know how.
Well, this is one way.
Whatever you think this deserves - whatever you feel you could part with. A thousand rupees, ten thousand, twenty thousand - every paisa will be helpful.
And every paisa that comes in, will go into the film.
And if you don’t have money, that is fine too - tell others. That would help.
And if not that, then just send us your good wishes- and a big hug.
Because that would go a long way in making this real too..

Send us your love - and RK/R Kay will see the light of the day.

"When he directs films, he creates heroes who are vulnerable, always on the margins, struggling to fit in because of their tendency to question (Bauji in Ankhon Dekhi) or stand out..." - Suhani Singh.. India Today May 04, 2016

Well I had an idea some 7 years back, about a man who loses his reflection (my daughter says I stole it from her. She was 12 at that time..). I wrote that script - The reflection comes to the real world from the world of reflections; and eventually takes over the man's life. It was not bad; but it lacked something.

There were interesting ideas there - what does it mean to lose one's reflection? What have you actually lost? I tried another draft; as always, it got better. But did not quite come together. I let it simmer for a while.

Then, a few years later - it appeared in a new avatar - as RK/R Kay.

Thank you for reading until here. Go on further to know more about RK/R Kay and why we’re crowdfunding clicking READ MORE below!

RK is a filmmaker and he is making his new film. The film is not quite shaping up as he had imagined - he is anxious and disturbed. And now, the protagonist of his film runs away; He is no more in the film, he has disappeared. Finally he lands up in real life. RK finds him - and now they must send him back into the film so that the film can be completed.

Thank you for reading until here. Go on further to know more about RK/R Kay and why we’re crowdfunding!

I think one is onto something here - I may not be able to point out exactly what, but i feel there is something here. The 'what' and 'why' will be discovered by other people, the film critics, and academicians, and even the audience who will complete the experience of the film. I can only work with an instinct - as all artistes must, I believe. You have an image, an idea, a feeling - that is one's starting point. It finds its material resonance in the process of making itself. For I do believe that the film makes itself. We just have to be there, around it, nurturing it, not losing the original intent - and the perseverance to see it through - and if we are rigorous and diligent, then the film will reveal itself to us.

RK/R Kay is a film about making a film. It is as much a film about destiny and free will - the character who is written in a certain way, is his destiny fixed? Where does free will enter then? And what about the author - or the rest of us. Do we have free will? It is a film about authorship - There is, in the end, a question of who exactly has made this film!

Sounds complicated? Well it is not, really.

These may be the ideas that gave me the initial push - but I have realised that ideas do not make films. Stories do.. Not only that, the stories then have to be entertaining enough and have enough emotional spine to take the audience through that experience.

For example, if I told you about 'Ankhon Dekhi' - and said that it’s a film about what is the nature of truth? The one that is given to us, or the truth of our experience? This idea belongs to the realm of philosophy. And in fact I had this idea since 2003, but I did not know how to transform this in a film. Many years later, the idea of joint family came to me - I found my Bauji, Rishi chacha, Rita, Amma, Ajju- and I was able to write that script in less than three weeks.

This is the perfect example of a journey 'from idea to film'.

The Casting of Ankhon Dekhi will give you an idea how an idea turns into a film. How the Director visualizes his characters.

So eventually RK/R Kay is all of that- it is a mad, sometimes over the top and yet very real and always engaging film about a filmmaker whose main character has run out of his unfinished film.

Let’s get on this journey together.

Cinema is a truly collaborative art.

There might be a singular vision, a defining image - but to realise that image sometimes one works with over a hundred people - actors, and technicians and others. The vision gets refined, transformed and sharpened through the visual inputs of the cameraman, a production designer brings in colours and textures and lived objects to the setting. With the editor, one rewrites the film, makes a final draft of the script. And then the sound engineer and the music director bring in the emotional finale to the vision.

I have had the pleasure of working with a wonderful team.. and what is even better, is that we have continued to do so over 15 years or more.

Rafey Mahmood has been the cinematographer of all the films that I have made so far. I knew him at FTII where we both studied. When I was an assistant director to Mani Kaul on Nazar, Rafey was the assistant cameraman to Piyush Shah on the same film. We have worked together on two short films and six feature films so far- in fact, everything that I have done in this medium. Full Bio

Resul Pookutty's first film was 'Private Detective' that I directed in 1996. And since then he has been a support throughout. Even when he became a celebrity, he never gave up working on low budget films for his friends. Done all six films with him. Full Bio

Suresh Pai has edited all my films since Raghu Romeo - that is another collaboration worth celebrating. Full Bio

Meenal Agarwal (with whom I also share my life and two children) has been the production designer for the last four films. Full Bio

I met Sagar Desai as a chance encounter- during the post production of Mixed Doubles. He has now done 4 films with me - Mixed Doubles, Mithya, Fatso and Ankhon Dekhi. His contribution to each of these films has been tremendous - every time we look for a new sound, something that we have not attempted before, and every time he finds something very moving. Full Bio

The last one on the board is Isha Ahluwalia, the costume designer. We have collaborated on just three films. Well, I discovered her late - that's all!

See our award winning team working on Ankhon Dekhi!

As a director, one could not ask for more than this team of absolute professionals who are super passionate and completely dedicated to their work

I am sure all of you want to know - Who is in the film?

Well there is me.. Rajat Kapoor. There is Ranvir Shorey - an actor I admire and love immensely. There is either Saurabh Shukla, or Sanjay Mishra. There are two female actors. I don't know yet - who they are. I am even open to suggestions :)

Like I said, cinema is a collaborative art!

Watch the Mithya Trailer to see Ranvir Shorey's brilliant acting

Overall we need Rs. 2.30 crores for this film.

This may be a little on the higher side for a crowdfunded film, but there are reasons for that. There is a little bit of VFX involved- of course, we'd try and get it for gratis- but right now I am including that in the cost of the film. This is not a small film- though we are trying to make it like a small film. Still, it does need 30 days of shooting.

The plan is -
Pre production - 3 months
Shoot - 30 days of shoot over a period of 45 to 50 days
Post production - 4 months - including editing, sound post, music and mixing

The detailed budget, for those who want to take a look at it - can be sent to them. The broken down budget has been added in the Spend Matrix below.

Good question. The short answer is that the producers can not see the film, till they see the film..
See what I mean? They can not visualise the film when they read a script - or at least they see the wrong film in their heads.
And well, I don't blame them. They are not filmmakers - so I suppose they lack this ability. And that is the reason they rely on the age old formulae of masala and stars.

Well since Ankhon Dekhi, I have written four scripts-

'Amar'- a gangster film;

'Mathura Mein Ta-Ta-Thaiya' - a film about an amateur theatre troupe that is trying to put up Shakespeare's as you like it in Mathura.

'Kadakh' - a film about a couple, a dead body in their house, and lots of guests.

'RK/R Kay' - you know all about it.

While I meet producers and look for finance, I keep writing. That is what keeps me sane, keeps me going.

I have realised that one doesn't really fit in the larger scheme of Indian cinema. The kind of films that excite me, the kind of stories I want to make - they are not really interested in them. They only understand one thing - who is in it?

We thought that kind of thinking would change once the studios came in, or when the multiplexes were built. And it did - for a very short while. Around 2004 to 2008, it looked like the change was here to stay. Alas, it did not last. We are back to the same film watching experience - where the studios and distributors and exhibitors only believe 5 or 6 saleable actors. Mind you, I am not complaining. Just stating how things are - and where in this scheme of things I find myself. Quite outside of it all.

I have made six films so far..

One would think things become easier after a while. Not really. I have spent 3 years since Ankhon Dekhi was released, looking for money. Many times, came very close to finalising a deal; couple of times even started pre production- but nobody is really interested in a film that does not have a star. So, I had given myself till end of May this year to either lock a deal- or else, I decided we'd go for crowd funding and shoot a film this year.

What I want to do, is to make three films over the next three years.

Okay - so Mathura Mein Ta-Ta-Thaiya and Amar, will probably have to wait longer because they need about a million dollar each (about 5.5 to 6 crore rupees), but I can make smaller films which will recover their money - and still be films that we all will be proud of.

I have so many stories to share, so many scripts ready.

The time is NOW.

MORE DETAILS ABOUT OUR TEAM

Rafey Mahmood

Rafey Mahmood grew up in the city of Allahabad. After completing his graduation in Arts from Allahabad University he went to study Cinematography at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. A National Award winner for Cinematography, he has shot a dozen features and many Commercials. Rafey Mahmood won the National Award for best cinematography for his work in TARANA. He was been nominated for best cinematographer in Screen Awards 2015 for Ankhon Dekhi. He also teaches Cinematography at FTII, Pune and Digital Academy, Mumbai.

Some of his well known credits include -

Tarana (1995) - short

Hypothesis (1997) - short

Feature Films

Private Detective (1995)

Haasil(2003)

Raghu Romeo (2003)

Mixed Doubles (2005)

Mithya (2007)

Fatso (2009)

Journey To Mecca (2010)

Ankhon Dekhi (2013)

Cosmic Sex (2015)

Bioscopewala (2016)

Resul Pookutty

Resul Pookutty is an Indian Film Sound designer, Sound editor and Sound Mixer. He along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp won the Oscars, Academy Award for best Sound Mixing for the film Slumdog Millionaire. He has worked in Hollywood, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam films. He Has also won the National film Award for Best Audiography for his work in Pazhassi Raja in 2010. In the year 1995 he completed his graduation from the Films and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune.

Feature films

Private Detective (1995)

Raghu Romeo (2003)

Musafir (2004)

Mixed Doubles (2005)

Black (2005)

Traffic Signal (2006)

Saawariya (2007)

Mithya (2007)

Black (2009)

Slumdog Millionaire (2009)

Ankhon Dekhi (2014)

Kochadaiiyaan (2014)

PK (2014)

Jazbaa (2015)

Nanak Shah Fakir (2015)

Moh Maya Money (2016)

Kaabil (2017)

Robot 2.0 (2017)

and many more.

Suresh Pai

Suresh Pai is an Indian Film Editor. He completed his graduation from Films and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune. He has won the two National Award for Best Editing for Snip and Page 3. He has worked as an Editor for many feature films, Television Commercials and Corporate AVs.

Feature Films

Raghu Romeo (2003)

Mixed Doubles (2005)

Page 3 (2005)

Bheja Fry (2007)

Mithya (2007)

Fatso (2009)

Tere Bin Laaden (2010)

Kachcha Limboo (2011)

Bheja Fry -2 (2012)

Ankhon Dekhi (2014)

Rahasya (2015)

Sanctum Of Evil (2016)

Project 103 (2016)

Man with Binoculars (2016)

Muthuramalingam (2017)

And many more…

Meenal Agarwal

Meenal Agarwal is a photographer and a production designer for films. Over the past 10 years she has worked as a production designer on 15 feature films and more than 30 television commercials. Meenal Agarwal was also been nominated for the Best production Designer for Filmfare Awards 2015 for Ankhon Dekhi.

Feature Films

Mixed Doubles (2005)

Mithya(2007)

Bheja Fry(2007)

Quick Gun Murugun (2008)

Straight (2008)

Raat Gayi Baat Gayi (2009)

Pappu Can’t Dance Saala (2009)

Fatso (2009)

Ankhon Dekhi (2012)

Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2014)

Three Stories (2015)

Phillauri (2017)

Sagar Desai

Sagar Desai grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and jammed on paper, carpeting and guitars with his cousins from an early age. Today he is a well known music director in the Indian Film industry. He has worked as music director for many feature films, Television Commercials, TV series etc.

Feature Films

Mixed Doubles (2005)

Bheja Fry (2007)

Mithya (2007)

Fatso (2009)

Quick Gun Murugun (2009)

10 ml love (2010)

Bheja Fry -2 (2012)

Ankhon Dekhi (2014)

Islan City (2015)

Ladies Room (2016)

A Death in the Gunj (2016)

Mantra (2017)

And many more…