Oscar and Grammy award winner Indian composer AR Rahman has been named as the ambassador of the BAFTA Breakthrough initiative for India.
Expressing happiness over his appointment, Rahman said that he is happy to work with BAFTA to discover some of the amazing talents that India is having to offer in film and Television.
This is the first initiative by BAFTA in India. This is a talent hunt initiative to enable the academy to identify and nurture up to five talents working in film, games, or television in India. Known as BAFTA Breakthrough the initiative is a part of the Academy's year-round efforts to support new talent along with their award ceremonies.
"This is a unique opportunity for promising artists to be supported by a world-renowned organisation, to not only make connections with other talented creatives across the world but to be mentored by BAFTA-winners and nominees. I am looking forward to seeing the brilliant talent chosen from India to be showcased on a global stage," Rehman said.
"I am also incredibly grateful for the invaluable support of our brilliant ambassador AR Rahman, an industry leader in his creative work and someone who shares our passion for identifying and nurturing new talent. He is well positioned to support the initiative, with his broad spectrum of work drawing recognition across Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu films, which will help BAFTA to appeal to a wide section of the industry," said Amanda Berry, Chief Executive of BAFTA.
On Monday, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) shared that the applications are now open for BAFTA Breakthrough India, supported by Netflix.
As part of the initiative in India, a jury of British and Indian industry experts will select five talents from across India to take part in the year-long mentoring and guidance program. The chosen talent will also connect with and learn from the British and Indian creative industries, and will be promoted as BAFTA Breakthrough artistes globally.
BAFTA Breakthrough has been running in the UK since 2013 and in China since 2019, but this year marks the first time the initiative is recognising talent from India. The jurors for Breakthrough India are still to be announced.
(With agency inputs)
