For some time, the app will be completely free for the users, the founder duo said.StarringYou by Rakul Preet Singh and Aman Preet Singh: Sister and brother actor duo Rakul Preet Singh and Aman Preet Singh have launched a new app to help people get job opportunities and easy access to Bollywood. The platform is called StarringYou and it aims to bridge the gap that many people behind the camera as well as in front of it face when it comes to bagging jobs in the Indian cinema industry. The app also aims to provide a platform which removes the physical boundaries and restrictions, letting aspirants audition from anywhere for any opportunity that is enlisted on the app.
To learn more about it, Financial Express Online talked to founders Rakul Preet Singh and Aman Preet Singh.
The app will help talent from all over the world find opportunities in the Indian film industry.“The idea started during the lockdown when many other industries were doing well, but there was no work in the Indian film industry, people were scared of meeting each other during the lockdown and they were not able to hold auditions or curate talent for future work. That is when we decided to make an app to have a database of talent from all over the world of people who wish to work in the Indian film industry,” said CEO and Founder Aman Preet Singh.
For some time, the app will be completely free for the users, FE Online has been told by the founder duo. “There will be upgrades in the app in the future, and we look forward to providing the best features to both the talent as well as the talent hunters,” Rakul Preet Singh said.
StarringYou: Modern solution for talent hiring in Indian film industry
The recruitment of talent in the Indian film industry has so far been using the same traditional means that it was using decades ago. “In the last few years, there have been changes in all the industries, but the Indian film industry has been functioning in the same traditional way. I feel there was a need so that everyone around the world could get an equal opportunity to work in the Indian film industries, and for that we have tied up with the top production houses, the best casting agency as well as individual directors and singers like Salim Merchant. The whole idea is that these people do not have enough time to meet the talent in person, but in their free time, they can log into the app and discover talent or they can post a job where they can see the applicants. That creates an opportunity in the country,” Aman Preet explained.
The app is getting good traction and response from across the country, with no particular cities topping out, Rakul Preet said. This indicates that the app could lead to the talent not having to shift bases to Mumbai just so that they can scout job opportunities in Bollywood there. If the app’s popularity catches on, it might help in reducing the inflow of migrants into Mumbai, providing some relief to the city. Though the app is looking to cater to Indian film industries in general, most of the people in the northern belt of India looking to enter the film industry reach out to Bollywood for opportunities more than any other regional film industries in the country.
Breaking regional barriers?
“This platform is meant for everyone – Bollywood as well as other regional industries. We are not restricted to just Bollywood. Any film industry, be it Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali or Bhojpuri, everyone can use this platform,” Rakul Preet said.
The app aims to provide jobs to not only people who wish to act or sing in the industry, but also to people who can lend a hand in the work that goes on behind the cameras.
Risks and checks
However, as we have often seen, since the film industry is a lucrative field, multiple times, there are fake auditions and job openings which aim to dupe applicants. This challenge is also likely to transfer to any online hiring platform. “Yes, there is the challenge of fake jobs, but we have a backend team to conduct background checks on the talent hunters. Any job that is posted on the platform can be disabled by our team if we feel like the job is not right or if it has been reported by the talent. When users – those who are seeking jobs – report a job, our team gets an alert and they can remove a job immediately. But, we do have our own in-house talent hunters for the job. Any other job posted by any other talent hunter will be checked first and then it will go on the platform,” Aman Preet explained.
So far, the duo has invested around Rs 50 lakh into the app, and they are anticipating more capital burn since, at the moment, it is a free platform. “So yes, in the future, we will be looking to raise money,” Rakul Preet said.
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