Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur Shares How His Daughter Made Him Realise His Severe Dyslexia

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has shared a personal revelation about a condition he had lived with unknowingly for decades. The Masoom director credits his daughter, Kaveri Kapur, with helping him discover that

he is severely dyslexic. While dyslexia affected many aspects of his life, Kapur only realised its full impact after Kaveri encouraged him to take an online test following her own diagnosis.

Shekhar Kapur on his dyslexia 

Kapur says he was initially unaware of what dyslexia meant for him. The discovery gave him a new perspective on challenges he had faced throughout his life, including his struggles with reading forms and managing schedules.

Kaveri had told her father that she was dyslexic and insisted on taking an online test. While the results showed she was mildly dyslexic, Kapur’s results revealed a more severe condition.

“Some years ago, my daughter said she had dyslexia. Her teacher commented this was often a ruse that students used to get more time for their exams..My daughter insisted on doing an online experiment, and guess what? She was a little Dyslexic .. but to my amazement I was severely Dyslexic. And now it started to make sense for me..(sic),” Kapur wrote on social media.

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Kapur admitted that certain everyday tasks, such as filling out forms, have always been a source of anxiety.

“I am petrified of forms.. like the ones that you have to fill in on a everyday basis. Always have been .. The moment I look at one .. I go into a state of panic. And I thought I was just irresponsible and lazy. But how did I become a Chartered Accountant? And a pretty successful one too? It’s still a mystery to me ..,” he said.

The director reflected on how he adapted to dyslexia in his professional life, particularly in filmmaking. Line producers often joked about his avoidance of schedules and paperwork, yet he consistently delivered results.

“And films? My line producers .. the one that actually are in charge of making the film often said .. ‘Shekhar won’t read the schedule .. but yet will find a way to finish the day on schedule.’ I and everybody else would laugh it off. Till I accepted my Dyslexia .. and realised that I was not escaping reading the form but just couldn’t make sense of it,” he explained.

Kapur also highlighted the creative side of his condition. “.. and realised how I had always worked around it .. and compensated for my Dyslexia in making my films .. and perhaps some of the great creative moments I have experienced are not in spite of my Dyslexia but because of it! By compensating for it .. and now am amazed at the number of brilliant creative people with Dyslexia .. Is there a link? I wonder ..,” he concluded.

Shekhar Kapur’s illustrious career

Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapur is an acclaimed Indian filmmaker known for his work in both Bollywood and international cinema. Born into the Anand-Sahni family, he has received numerous awards, including a BAFTA, National Film Award, National Board of Review Award, and three Filmfare Awards, along with a Golden Globe nomination.

Kapur gained early recognition in Bollywood with the TV series Khandaan and made his directorial debut with the cult classic Masoom (1983). He rose to fame with Mr. India (1987) and earned international acclaim for Bandit Queen (1994), which premiered at Cannes and screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

He further established his global reputation with Elizabeth (1998), nominated for seven Academy Awards, and its sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), along with the war drama The Four Feathers (2002).

In 2025, Kapur was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award.