Not just a lyricist and playback singer, but also an impressive writer and actor, Swanand Kirkire gets candid with The Pioneer about his journey, his music, holding onto his musicality in his plays, and more.
Tejal Sinha
Renowned English playwright, poet, and actor William Shakespeare once very well said, “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” Well, nothing else could explain Indian lyricist, playback singer, writer, actor, and dialogue writer Swanand Kirkire’s journey. Kirkire received the National Film Award for Best Lyrics twice: the first time in 2006 for the song Bande Me Tha Dum…Vande Mataram from the film Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and the second time in 2009 for the song Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh from the film 3 Idiots. He was nominated for a Filmfare Award for Best Lyrics for the song Piyu Bole in Parineeta (2005). He got the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the Marathi film Chumbak at the 66th National Film Awards in 2018.
As he was a part of Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films, Select Films, and Select Conversations, we got a chance to interact with him, who feels he has had quite a long yet fantastic journey.
Given his strong roots in theatre, music, and literature, his success in mainstream commercial cinema is almost dream-like. And so he attributes, “Theatre taught me everything. It gave me an understanding of everything—stories, storytelling, everything. And it worked very well for me because I can do many things. That’s only because of theatre. I can write, I can sing, I can act, I can direct, I can write lyrics—everything because I used to do this in theatre.”
He does feel that his stint with theatre gives him a distinct edge in cinema today because “the theatre keeps me fresh. And theatre has also taught me a lot.”
Hailing from a musical background, music has to be and always has been an integral part of his storytelling. And with him often saying, ‘Direction is his ultimate aspiration’. We asked about any cinematic themes close to your heart, and will such a project launch you in a Kishore Kumar-like avatar as a director, lyricist, actor, and music director? And so, he says, it has to have something to do with music.
With his parents being classical singers and avid listeners of Hindi film music in Indore, recalling his earliest impressions of music, he says, “For me, music flows in my DNA. I remember that I used to wake up, and early in the morning, my mother would be doing riyaz. So, I’ve seen music everywhere—day and night, left and right—and there was nothing else but music in my house! So, I was quite tired of it; I wanted to do something else in my life. That’s why I started doing acting, theatre, and stuff like that. You know, I didn’t take classical music as my career, which was a very easy choice in those days. But I chose something else just because there was too much music in my life.”
So evidently, music was all around! But the democratic atmosphere is what drew him to take up theatre. However, “in classical music, there was a lot of hierarchy. There was nothing wrong with it, but it was a little discomforting. But in theatre, everybody has a say. Everybody has a voice; you know, we are all together. I think theatre has given me more freedom, and that drove me towards it.”
Some amazing chartbuster albums to his credit include Parineeta, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Welcome to Sajjanpur, 3 Idiots, Paa, Lafangey Parinder, Rajneeti, Singham, Barfi, English Vinglish, Barfi, Vicky Donor, Oh My God, Bol Bachchan, Ferrari Ki Sawaari, Satyamev Jayate, PK, Fitoor, Lost, Qala (Rubaaiyaan), Ghoomer (Taqdeer Se, Purnaviram), Ganapath (Lafda Kar Le), and many more to his credit as a lyricist. And so he says, “I never wanted to be a lyric writer, but I wrote lyrics. I never wanted to be an actor, but I acted. So, I’m quite a strange person that way! I used to listen to Gulzar Sahab, and I’d always loved his work. But I started lyric writing because of Piyush Mishra. He used to write lyrics, and that was quite fascinating. Looking at him writing lyrics inspired me a lot to write lyrics as well.”
Indian theatre today is becoming more and more wordier, but he has always held onto musicality because, “Because I love music. The other thing is that in India, we tell stories through music, be it folk theatre or anything; we cannot live without music. So, I think going away from music doesn’t help anything. We need music for everything—for marriages, for Raksha Bandhan, for everything. You cannot live without it. It’s ingrained in India’s life.”
Swanand, whose recent works include Three of Us and one of the most trending songs of the month—Lutt Putt Gaya from Dunki—speaks of his association with Royal Stag for Royal Stag Barrel Stag Large Short Films and says, “It’s really good, really amazing because short films come under a genre that needs to be supported. Lots of new things come from this genre, and Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films is doing a lot for this genre. The platform is dedicated to short films, and there is a lot to watch there. I like short films because they give you the space to experiment with things. If you want to become a filmmaker, you should make one or two short films. And short films in themselves are a genre, so you can’t say that they’re just a stepping stone.”
Meanwhile, on the work front, he is working with Amit Trivedi on a couple of projects and has also written and acted in an OTT show, which will come soon, with Ankur Tewari.
Renowned English playwright, poet, and actor William Shakespeare once very well said, “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” Well, nothing else could explain Indian lyricist, playback singer, writer, actor, and dialogue writer Swanand Kirkire’s journey. Kirkire received the National Film Award for Best Lyrics twice: the first time in 2006 for the song Bande Me Tha Dum…Vande Mataram from the film Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and the second time in 2009 for the song Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh from the film 3 Idiots. He was nominated for a Filmfare Award for Best Lyrics for the song Piyu Bole in Parineeta (2005). He got the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the Marathi film Chumbak at the 66th National Film Awards in 2018.
As he was a part of Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films, Select Films, and Select Conversations, we got a chance to interact with him, who feels he has had quite a long yet fantastic journey.
Given his strong roots in theatre, music, and literature, his success in mainstream commercial cinema is almost dream-like. And so he attributes, “Theatre taught me everything. It gave me an understanding of everything—stories, storytelling, everything. And it worked very well for me because I can do many things. That’s only because of theatre. I can write, I can sing, I can act, I can direct, I can write lyrics—everything because I used to do this in theatre.”
He does feel that his stint with theatre gives him a distinct edge in cinema today because “the theatre keeps me fresh. And theatre has also taught me a lot.”
Hailing from a musical background, music has to be and always has been an integral part of his storytelling. And with him often saying, ‘Direction is his ultimate aspiration’. We asked about any cinematic themes close to your heart, and will such a project launch you in a Kishore Kumar-like avatar as a director, lyricist, actor, and music director? And so, he says, it has to have something to do with music.
With his parents being classical singers and avid listeners of Hindi film music in Indore, recalling his earliest impressions of music, he says, “For me, music flows in my DNA. I remember that I used to wake up, and early in the morning, my mother would be doing riyaz. So, I’ve seen music everywhere—day and night, left and right—and there was nothing else but music in my house! So, I was quite tired of it; I wanted to do something else in my life. That’s why I started doing acting, theatre, and stuff like that. You know, I didn’t take classical music as my career, which was a very easy choice in those days. But I chose something else just because there was too much music in my life.”
So evidently, music was all around! But the democratic atmosphere is what drew him to take up theatre. However, “in classical music, there was a lot of hierarchy. There was nothing wrong with it, but it was a little discomforting. But in theatre, everybody has a say. Everybody has a voice; you know, we are all together. I think theatre has given me more freedom, and that drove me towards it.”
Some amazing chartbuster albums to his credit include Parineeta, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Welcome to Sajjanpur, 3 Idiots, Paa, Lafangey Parinder, Rajneeti, Singham, Barfi, English Vinglish, Barfi, Vicky Donor, Oh My God, Bol Bachchan, Ferrari Ki Sawaari, Satyamev Jayate, PK, Fitoor, Lost, Qala (Rubaaiyaan), Ghoomer (Taqdeer Se, Purnaviram), Ganapath (Lafda Kar Le), and many more to his credit as a lyricist. And so he says, “I never wanted to be a lyric writer, but I wrote lyrics. I never wanted to be an actor, but I acted. So, I’m quite a strange person that way! I used to listen to Gulzar Sahab, and I’d always loved his work. But I started lyric writing because of Piyush Mishra. He used to write lyrics, and that was quite fascinating. Looking at him writing lyrics inspired me a lot to write lyrics as well.”
Indian theatre today is becoming more and more wordier, but he has always held onto musicality because, “Because I love music. The other thing is that in India, we tell stories through music, be it folk theatre or anything; we cannot live without music. So, I think going away from music doesn’t help anything. We need music for everything—for marriages, for Raksha Bandhan, for everything. You cannot live without it. It’s ingrained in India’s life.”
Swanand, whose recent works include Three of Us and one of the most trending songs of the month—Lutt Putt Gaya from Dunki—speaks of his association with Royal Stag for Royal Stag Barrel Stag Large Short Films and says, “It’s really good, really amazing because short films come under a genre that needs to be supported. Lots of new things come from this genre, and Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films is doing a lot for this genre. The platform is dedicated to short films, and there is a lot to watch there. I like short films because they give you the space to experiment with things. If you want to become a filmmaker, you should make one or two short films. And short films in themselves are a genre, so you can’t say that they’re just a stepping stone.”
Meanwhile, on the work front, he is working with Amit Trivedi on a couple of projects and has also written and acted in an OTT show, which will come soon, with Ankur Tewari.
