‘I liked theatre because of its democratic nature’

When a young Swanand Kirkire read Gulzar, he was in awe of the poet and decided that poetry is what he wanted to do. After graduating from the National School of Drama (NSD) in 1996, Kirkire moved to Mumbai to try his hand at Bollywood. He had his breakthrough when he wrote ‘Bavra mann dekhne chala ek sapna’ for Sudhir Mishra’s 2005 film, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. After that, he went on to write songs for films such as Parineeta (2005), 3 Idiots (2009), Barfi! (2012), English Vinglish (2012) and October, among others. We caught up with him at an event at Radisson, where he was present to promote his latest film.

You come from a family of musicians. What was it that made you choose theatre?

I was born in Indore (Madhya Pradesh), and I studied there. Both my father and mother were classical musicians, disciples of Kumar Gandharva, but they were not professionals. In those days it was not easy to become a professional musician. It was a passion for them. They were learning and doing their jobs. But my uncle used to do theatre, I used to go with him for rehearsals, and that’s when I realised that I really liked theatre. I liked it because of its democratic nature — you have the freedom to say and do anything. In classical music, there is a ‘guru shishya parampara’, and there is hierarchy. Plus, it is not very liberal in terms of its thoughts and ideas. You have to follow rules. On the other side, theatre is a very democratic medium — you can say what you want to say, discuss what you want to discuss, and there is no hierarchy. Even if there is, it changes every day, depending on the role you are playing.

Securing an admission in NSD is tough. How was the experience?

NSD was a game changer, getting into NSD was a little difficult for me. I did not get in, in my first attempt, I was overwhelmed with the fact that I was appearing for an examination for an institute which has produced greats such as Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Shabana Azmi. I failed the first exam and I got selected in my second attempt and it was an eye-opener. I was exposed to the world. Coming from Indore to Delhi, which is the cultural centre, I got exposed to a lot of things. Delhi has all the embassies, where you get to see films of different languages, theatre in different languages, etc. Then I started working for a group called Act One. This group’s alumni includes Manoj Bajpayee, Shoojit Sircar and Piyush Mishra and that was really inspiring.

Another important decision that a Bollywood aspirant has to make is the decision to relocate to Mumbai. Was that tough?

Moving to Delhi was not that difficult. Delhi is a small city at heart. Mumbai is a giant. It was difficult for me but I was very lucky that I got a job. I had done a play on Bhagat Singh, which had become the talk of the town in Delhi, and a producer in Mumbai was thinking about making a television show on that particular subject. She got to know about me and I was the only one who was well-versed with it because I had written that play. So, she offered me a job, and said that she wanted me to write that show. That’s how I shifted to Mumbai. I had a job when I moved to this city, I was surrounded by a great ambience. So, my entry was grand, but, when that show ended, I was not prepared for it. I was going to the office and writing every day, and then suddenly everything was finished. This was when I was exposed to the true colours of Mumbai.

How did you deal with joblessness? What do you do when you have no work being offered to you?

That’s why it helps to be a poet. As a poet, in bad times, you write about those times... in loneliness, you write about loneliness. So, that’s what I did.

Does censorship affect a lyricist as much as it affects a director or a producer? Does it hold you back?

Censorship holds back everything. The worst thing is when you start self-censoring, when you stop yourself from shooting or writing something because you think, ‘the censor will cut it anyway’. That is the most dangerous thing. This restricts artistes from achieving their full potential.

Do you face writer’s block? How does one deal with it?

I feel writers should stop romanticising writer’s block. If it [words] is not coming to you then that means there is something that you need to do about it to improve the situation. Maybe you need to take a nap or something. Sometimes your mind stops working because it needs rest.

PHOTO: SATISH BATE/HT Swanand Kirkire