Kunal Kapoor goes all out to revive India’s literary heritage

There have been numerous discussions and debates about the remnants of Indian heritage and the need to focus on assisting those working towards restoring what is left of it. And among the numerous artefacts and structures that have survived, the most important are the Sanskrit texts.

And actor Kunal Kapoor is doing his part by assisting the eGangotri Digital Preservation Trust in raising funds for the digitisation of rare books and manuscripts.

“It’s incredibly heartening to see how many people have come forward to start fundraisers and contribute,” says Kapoor about the response he’s received after his crowdfunding platform set up the fundraiser.

The initiative “focuses mostly on Sanskrit texts and manuscripts” dealing with “Indological scholarship, yoga and mysticism”.

The crowdfunding is also to pay the salaries and operational expenses of the staff that works tirelessly to “make our nation’s textual heritage preserved forever and available 24/7”.

The Rang De Basanti (2006) actor further adds, “I had worked with a number of NGOs in the social space and saw closely the challenges they were facing.”

“We felt that we needed to leverage the power of technology to help them overcome these challenges,” he says.

Workwise, the actor who was last seen in Noblemen (2018), has been picky about choosing his scripts.

Moreover, he has gone on to work in numerous other films industries as well. This is because he feels, “as a creative person, this is the best time to be in the industry. There are so many different avenues that are available”.

So, what is his take on the “insider-outsider” debate that is raging today?

“Nepotism does exist in the industry,” he says, adding, “If you are from a film family you definitely have an advantage, to begin with.”

“But why single out only the movie industry? It exists everywhere — from the smallest shopkeeper to the biggest industrial houses,” he adds. The actor goes on to add that eventually, the audience is only interested in what the actor brings to the silver screen, in his/her personal capacity.

“Which is why you have so many actors, directors, writers that aren’t from film families that have made it,” he says. He adds, “I do believe as a country, we are changing. We aren’t interested in legacy as much as we are in merit.”