Tollywood actress Jayasudha’s son Shreayan Kapoor, who made his debut with Basthi last year, is the number one shooter of Telangana State. A gold medallist at the Telangana State Shooting Championship held recently, he is also a six-time state champion and has represented Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the national games. Talking about his passion, shooting, Shreayan, surprisingly seems disappointed.
“We have Olympians among shooters, but it’s shocking that no one supports the sport. Those who are interested have to start on their own as no financial support comes from the government or from sponsors,” he rues. “I believe Gagan Narang is going to start an academy in Hyderabad soon. If so, it will groom more shooters here,” says Shreayan. “The state of shooters is not great. We win medals for our states, but we don’t get any financial aid. The person who stands on the top in the national games and participates in the Olympics only gets some aid from the Central Sports Ministry,” he says.
And shooting is no easy sport. “We have to spend a lot of money on ammunition, cartridges and targets. In the last 10 years alone, I have spent nearly '25 lakh from my own pocket for this sport. I am passionate about shooting so I spend,” says Shreayan, who dreams of opening an academy to coach shooters. Though introduced to the world of guns at a very young age, last year Shreayan tried a different kind of shooting — films. But, his debut Basthi, failed to do well at the box office. “I am currently looking for scripts and I am not desperate to start my second film immediately. So I will take my time to choose the right script,” says Shreayan.
Does he feel that Basthi was an early debut? “No. It just wasn’t planned well. In fact, I wanted to debut two years ago,” he reveals. Before entering films, Shreayan had joined the Barry John Coaching Institute, Mumbai. “To learn more about filmmaking, I also worked as an assistant director for Ek Villain and as an intern for Ragini MMS,” he says. But he realised that alternative films was where his interest was.
“I didn’t want to be part of a regular commercial film; but my elders suggested a ‘commercial-formula’ debut and I went ahead with Basthi,” he says. Shreayan is in regular touch with his cousins Ekta and Tusshar. “I also maintain a professional relationship with them,” he says. He is also in touch with his cousin Abhishek Kapoor, director of Rock On, Kai Po Che and Fitoor. Whatever the case, for now his target is clear, but he says he wants to take it slow. “Now, O would like to participate in the south zone championship and then follow that up with national games.
