Shekhar Kapur reflects on his creative journey at Jaipur Literature Festival, New York 2025

Shekhar Kapur

When Shekhar Kapur talks about art, it rarely stays confined to just films. New York witnessed a special moment for cinephiles and culture enthusiasts as filmmaker Shekhar Kapur took center stage at the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) 2025 edition in the city.

The session, anchored by festival producer Sanjoy K. Roy, turned into a sweeping journey through Kapur’s multi-hyphenate career. The Oscar-nominated director spoke about his leap from history-driven films like Elizabeth—which first pushed him into global viewership—to staging one of the grandest musical shows for the Dubai Expo 2022, a collaboration with A.R. Rahman.

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Audiences heard about his belief in art that doesn’t stay boxed in. Kapur has long moved between formats, from traditional cinema to theatre and live spectacles.

That thread ran through the talk: how stories travel, how they pick up layers when adapted across cultures, and how an artist has to keep evolving to stay relevant.

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The conversation also underlined the growing global footprint of Indian creatives. JLF New York, now a yearly stop for authors and artists, positioned Kapur as one of the country’s biggest cultural exports.

His film Elizabeth continues to be cited as an example of historical storytelling with both scale and intimacy, while his newer experiments show a willingness to challenge the idea of what “Indian art” should look like abroad.

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This was about a whole generation of Indian artists being recognized, heard, and honored on a global scale, not just about one man's career. Everyone was reminded by Kapur's talk—which was equal parts provocation and reflection—that there is no set route to creativity. Decades after his first major hit, he continues to be motivated by this restless journey.

Shekhar's appearance this year demonstrated the expanding global reach of Indian storytellers, as JLF New York has grown into an annual gathering place for voices from the arts, literature, and film.