Telling an original story has never been easy in the Hindi film industry but Rajat Kapoor is not one to give up. With biggies like Kapoor and Sons and Dil Chahta Hai behind him as an actor and critically acclaimed films like Mithya and Ankhon Dekhi in his kitty as a director, getting funds for his latest venture should have been relatively easy. But the actor-filmmaker, who has long straddled the different worlds of Bollywood and independent cinema with ease, found it a struggle to raise money from conventional sources for RK/ R Kay. Left with few options, Kapoor, 57, has reached out to viewers directly for the film, which is scheduled to begin shooting in November.

RK/R Kay is one of three complete scripts that Kapoor wants to adapt for the big screen. He has put out details about the film and crew members on Crowdera, a free crowd-funding platform that helps individuals, non-profits and independent filmmakers raise money online.