With music blown into his breath by father Late Pt. Malhar Kulkarni, Rupak has blossomed under the finest tutelage of flute maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia to become an outstanding exponent of "Maihar Gharana". As a "Ganda Bandh shagird of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia since the tender age of 12, Rupak with arduous training and hard work, has mastered "Dhrupad, Khayal and Tantrakari ang" (style) equally well. In fact, his recital is always a rare treat combining Dhrupad and Khayal gayaki, melodious alap and scintillating "Tatkar" (tounging technique used for Jhala) innovative improvisation with mesmerising "Layakari", superb breath control and dexterous finger work. Rupak has had the rare distinction of having connoisseurs and music maestros such as Pandit Ravi Shankar and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi in his audience, who have lauded his music.

With concerts across the globe in countries such as Australia, America, Russia, Japan, Africa, England, France and others, Rupak has acquired a dignified maturity in his playing at an enviably early age. His concert at "Asian Super Flautist Festival" in Japan is particularly a memorable one. In India, Rupak has performed at almost all prestigious music conferences. Be it, Sawai Gandharva, Pune; Tansen Samaroh, Gwalior; Vishnu Digamber Paluskar Samaroh, New Delhi; Times of India 150 years celebration concerts and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kolkatta; Hirabai Badodekar Smruti Samaroh and Gunidas Sammelan, Mumbai.

Rupak has lent his musical prowess to many melodies hitting the chart busters. Has worked with renowned music directors from Bollywood. Films such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam (K3G), Fiza, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer etc. have him playing in not just the main songs but also in the background scores, arousing emotions varying from pathos to exuberance.

Rupak has collaborated with many renowned musicians from the West to create scintillating music. Some of them being… Piano - C. C. Kreusch (Germany); Oola Melander (Sweden) Drums - Trilok Gurtu; Taufiq Qureshi; Reto Weber and Stephen Rigert (Switzerland) Guitar - Marc Liebeskind (Switzerland) Saxophone - Philip Harpen (France) Djembe - Adama Drame (West Africa) "Monsoon Magic" and "Unwind" are Rupak's bold and successful endeavours with fusion music.