‘I’VE SAVED SOME OF MY SHAYARI FOR THE BOOK’

Ayushmann Khurrana’s ‘slightly radical, religious or political’ couplets will find their way into his possible book of shayari

Tumhari aankhon ki zubaan Urdu hee hai shayad, padhne mein mujhe dikkat hai/Aur bayaan na karna tumhaari fitrat hai.

If you think this sher is by a veteran shayar, don’t blame yourself for being wrong — these lines have actually been penned by actor-singer Ayushmann Khurrana. By now, he has proved his acting as well as singing credentials beyond doubt. But for some time, the Badhaai Ho (2018) actor has been constantly putting out his shayari on his social media handles.

“Honestly, I never thought I would expose this side of myself on social media but I just happened to put out one shayari last year or maybe, a year-and-a-half. Till that time, I never thought there will be takers for this kind of stuff. I always thought millennials are

going westward, and they probably won’t understand vernacular poetry. But the kind of traction I get on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook is amazing as I get thousands of likes and RTs. It’s unbelievable and has only encouraged me as a ‘poet.’ Now, in hindsight, I think I underestimated the millennials (laughs),” says Ayushmann.

But unlike the perception surrounding poets/writers, Ayushmann says he doesn’t need to be in a solitary space for those thoughts to come to him. “I come up with my couplets in

an impromptu manner. Right now, I don’t even have the mindspace to sit and devote certain amount of time to write shayari. I come up with them naturally and the inspiration can be anything including my past experiences. And not many would believe that I can come up with them literally anywhere — during shots, while playing cricket on sets or even while travelling on a flight. It could be any time of the day and I feel that’s the beauty of it, ki just apne aap aa jaatein hain,” he says.

However, the big question: Is he thinking of coming up with a book of his poems? “Yes, kabhi na kabhi toh karunga,” he says, smiling. “In fact, I have saved some of my shayari for the book. But sometimes, I do feel like putting them out on social media. I am very clear that this isn’t my core profession. So, I don’t look to earn anything from it. If I am getting love from people for the same, that’s about it, because my main job is to act, and I also do a lot of singing,” he adds.

Writing shayari is “more of a passion” and Ayushmann is in no hurry to become a published poet. “Book jab niklegi tab dekh lenge. And like I said, I am saving some of my couplets, which could be slightly radical, religious or political in nature, from social media. I know I can’t afford to put them there. I have certain viewpoints that come out in certain shayaris. Woh kabhi zindagi mein baad mein kaam aayega,” he says.