Krishnapal Singh Chundawat’s story as a jaded MBA student with subdued creative ambitions would resonate with more than just a handful of Indian youths. The pitch and tone of his career in the corporate rat race had been set when Chundawat decided to let his heart direct his fate and yielded TO fulfilling his cinematic dream of founding Rangbari Cinema.
All this and more with no prior knowledge of cameras, film making, editing or producing.
Rangbari Cinema is Chundawat’s very own wedding film production label that dedicates itself solely to the coverage of Rajput community weddings. The specific idea of establishing Rangbari Cinema arose out of Chundawat’s deep conviction that his community is culturally rich and traditionally elaborate weddings were not attracting the coverage that they duly deserved.
He believed that his personal origin and familial backgrounds instilled in him the sensibility and aesthetic sense that an authentic Rajput wedding filmmaker required.
“I found there to be a commendable amount of effort being put into upholding the traditional wedding customs in place however, not much was being done to highlight Rajput Wedding culture as well as the people that it involved and brought together. Hence, I decided to present these weddings in a way that would best utilize my knowledge of Rajput rituals, custom and y love for traditional Rajasthani music,” says Chundawat.
His intent was sincere and clear alright, but the impoirtant question remained. No videography skills? No recording experience? How would Chundawat run Rangbari Cinema without ever hving held a camera in his hand? After a series of self-teaching lessons on editing through Youtube, Chundawat amassed a professional team of four people and approached one of his relatives with the proposal of filming her upcoming wedding. His determined promise to deliver his best shot got the bride-to-be on board and that’s how Chundawat Rangbari’s first ever wedding video in December of 2017, which he called Kuckoo Ki Shadi.
Ever since, Chundawat has covered eight such Rajput weddings and is bettering his production skills as he progresses. Apart from his struggle to break through into a skilled industry with no prior background in photography and videography, Chundawat mentions the stereotypes that he had to battle on a personal front. In his words, “It was challenging to convince my parents that I wanted to pursue a profession that they or the society did not consider respectable. Especially, since I was leaving my job in the finance sector to enter the wedding industry. However, one’s courage and determination triumphs in the end, as did mine.”
His selective approach towards Rajput weddings, however, benefitted him over other prospectives as his clients trusted him with the cultural know-how that is imbibed within the Rajput community. He also adds an important reason for his exclusive selection of Rajput weddings, which he identifies as authentic content with immense coverage potential. Having had begun his journey within Rajasthan, Chundawat hopes to expand Rangbari Cinema to other Rajput states as well as other avenues of wedding services, such as event planning and decor. “I want to work towards my culture, my people and to put Rajputs on the world map for their cultural heritage. I also gain tremendous satisfaction from the fact that my work essentially helps people cherish memories of a lifetime and the happiness of a satisfied customer is indeed priceless”, he concludes.