Ayushmann Khurrana on World Poetry Day: I plan to release a book of my poems soon

Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who is also keen on writing stories, adds that writers in the film industry are the real ‘stars’, and that they have played the biggest role in his films’ box-office success.

bollywood Updated: Mar 21, 2018 14:41 IST
Actor Ayushmann Khurrana’s interest in poetry was revealed when he appeared as a guest on the show Kaun Banega Crorepati last year, and recited his self-composed poem, Mukhote.
Actor Ayushmann Khurrana’s interest in poetry was revealed when he appeared as a guest on the show Kaun Banega Crorepati last year, and recited his self-composed poem, Mukhote.

Actor Ayushmann Khurrana is a big fan of poetry. Proof? His Twitter feed is full of it! What’s more intriguing is that he has, of late, been posting his own verses, too, and people are loving it.

On the occasion of World Poetry Day (March 21), Ayushmann says that he plans to publish a book of his own poems. “The biggest influence has been my mother (Poonam Khurrana), who has a Master’s degree in Hindi. My Hindi is good because of her! (laughs) It was because of her that there’d be literature books in vernacular languages at my home while I was growing up. My father (P. Khurrana) was interested in poetry and ghazals, so that’s where my interest stemmed from,” says the actor, who is also a noted singer.

His interest in poetry has now deepened, so much so that “one day, I plan to definitely release a book of my poems”. Why not right now? Ayushmann says, “That’s a part of my bucket list. But I don’t have enough material right now, therefore I’ll continue [writing verses] till I have close to around a hundred pages.” His latest poem was Tumhari Almari Ki Khushboo.

Ayushmann’s interest in poetry was revealed when he appeared as a guest on the show Kaun Banega Crorepati last year, and recited his self-composed poem, Mukhote. Show host Amitabh Bachchan was visibly impressed — Amitabh’s father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was himself a nationally renowned poet.

Ayushmann is a big fan of Harivansh Rai Bachchan — no surprise there. “Harivansh Rai, Nirala... all of them were called ‘rashtra kavi’ (national poets) because they’d write motivational stuff, and take pride in being an Indian. I love reading Rumi, Shiv Kumar Batalvi (who had written Ikk Kudi, used in the 2016 film Udta Punjab). While growing up, I read Paash. His poem Sapne Khatarnak would be used in our street plays (when I was doing theatre),” says Ayushmann about his influences.

The actor also writes stories, and we talk about whether writers get their due in Bollywood. Ayushmann says, “Writers today are finally getting their due, but we have a long way to go. I firmly believe that writers are the biggest stars, the ones who create content. They make us actors a star, because we portray a character written by them. They’re still underpaid, so there’s still a long way to go. All my hit films — Vicky Donor (2012), Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), Bareilly Ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (both 2017) turned out the way they were, because brilliant people like Juhi Chaturvedi, Nitesh Tiwari, Sharat Katariya, and Hitesh Kewalya came up with unique ideas and dialogues. The industry thrives because of writers.”

Interact with the author on Twitter/ @RishabhSuri02

Follow @htshowbiz for more