A barrage of requests from the audiences greeted Piyush Mishra, actor, lyricist and poet, in the over-crowded hall during the poetry festival in the city on Sunday. Among his Bollywood numbers, his moving rendition of “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna Ab Hamari Dil Me Hai” evoked the loudest applause.
Mr. Mishra, who shot to fame for his magic with words in films such as ‘Maqbool’ and ‘Gangs of Wasseypur,’ later told The Hindu , “My lyrics are dubbed as being too native with a stark local lingo that sounds bare. But that’s signature Piyush, and will remain to hold my identity.”
What mirrored his passion for earthy local Hindi lingo was his own reading of poems from his latest book “Kuch Ishq Kiya Kuch Kaam Kiya”, an anthology of poems on his love entanglements, work and uneasiness written from experiences over 20 years.
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Mr. Mishra, who confessed that he often used to be inebriated, said his poem talks of him encountering dark moments and emerging unbeaten.
“I would be glad if people took that as a positive message,” he said. Would he put his poem as a lyrics in a Bollywood number? “I hope so, but knowing Bollywood, is it worth expecting something like this?” he asked.