Shekar kapur on Being Spontaneous & Original

We had an enriching session with Shekar kapur on “Being Spontaneous & Original”

We welcomed Shekhar Kapoor – a seeker & a rebel, a adventurist, a repeat hiker on the foothills of LIFE, an avid story teller, film director, BAFTA Award winner, Academy Award winner, National Film Award, Chartered Accountant, a melodramatic ……….list can go on, words will tire themselves out, we can aptly ask ourselves ‘how many men can be one man’

Some of the Takeaways from the session are :

EXISTENCE : You exist because you think you exist! The Universe is a creation of our minds. We give any object existence by observing it. If we ignore something, then it does not exist for us. Every moment is perfect the way it is created. It is our prejudice which makes it not so.
Sense of reality is in our mind. Nothing can be more perfect than the moment in which we exist. Everything lies in a moment & moment is never permanent.

INTUITION:

If one wants to understand intuition, you should look at children during playtime. They come without any prejudice. They are always fascinated with something and never bored. Intuition can come when we let go of ourselves and of our biases.
Education programmes in the world are counter intuitive. It should be made more playful instead. Nothing can be boring unless one is actively involved in the present.

CREATIVITY AND GENIUS:

If you want to be creative, you must awash yourself of all previous knowledge. “I dont know” are the the most creative words. It is only when you have a blank slate, will you have creative ideas. A “no mind” state!
Moments of extreme creativity lies outside of our self. Judging someone to be genius is also prejudice as a person is not genius – it is a moment of genius which occurs when we allow ourselves to be the conduit of it. Devotion / faith is opening oneself to intutivity. Citing Bob Dylans example, his best lyrics are always penned down fast, like in a moment of genius.
There is no human without self doubt. Doubt is the worst thing you can do to your creativity. Creativity is combination of intuition and spontaneity.

PERFECTION:

There is no concept of perfection. Perfection is a myth. We would rather strive for beauty or honesty than perfection. Nothing can be more perfect than the moment in which we exist.

FINDING INSPIRATION:

We are the stories we tell ourselves! It is always from you own life stories and experiences that you will find inspiration. Those same stories can be moulded to fit the plot of the new production.
If you are inspired by the same people you will make same Flim. There is no individuality. We over burdened & overwhelmed by individuality.

SUCCESS AND FAILURE

Success is when u climbing the mountain and you have to come back to go to another mountain. You can’t climb one mountain from atop another mountain.
Failure, he feels, is his best friend & that is when he reflects and is motivated to take on new challenges. One must not think that I will not fail. Humans fear and have self-Doubt. So it’s in our mind.
One needs to re-invent yourself.

LOVE :

On defining love, he said, love is not ownership. Love cannot exist without freedom, uncertainty and adventure.

THOUGHTS ON REMAKING ANY OF HIS MOVIES:

He also said he would not to like to remake any of his movies, all the more because he is different today. Bandit queen is one movie that scared him. He made it while he was living in Delhi and felt the guilt of male chauvinism after meeting Phoolan Devi. It wrecked him emotionally, as it was pure intuition and without any manipulation.

ON DEALING WITH RUMOURS:

Scandalized rumors have been a part and parcel of his life. So they and then they go. So, he treats them like humour. Lost a lot of friends in the process of becoming a celebrity from being a CA.

ON KNOWING HIS “WHY” :

“Why” is definition but “Why” is not a valid question. Everything is a chance. Everything is uncertain. Who is thinking is a thought. When you are obsessed with something you will try to achieve it. Memory is just an a addiction.