'I won't stop writing songs', says Pinky Poonawala

While writing the lyrics for Konark Sarangi's single Hausla Na Ruthe, lyricist Pinky Poonawala says that she put herself in its protagonist Charulata Biswal's shoes. The lady from Odisha is known to have motivated women to restore an entire forest when her village was ravaged by a super cyclone in 1999, to save themselves from future calamities. The track by the California-based vocalist is an ode to Charu Maa, played by Ila Arun. Pinky says about the songwriting process, “As women, we face many obstacles and courage has always been a part of our lives. I've kind of lived this journey, too -- of falling, living in fear and getting up again. So, I just had to word it in context of Charu Maa.”

AD to lyricist​

The track has won the Los Angeles Film Award in the Best Music Video category and nominated for several other international awards. But that's not new for Pinky, whose debut track Rehnuma was shortlisted for GIMA and Radio Mirchi Music Awards in 2011. About such good response right at the beginning of her innings as a songwriter, she says, “I never imagined myself writing lyrics. I was an AD to Ashutosh Gowariker on Swades and worked with Aamir Khan Productions but because of health reasons, I couldn't continue being on the floors.” Rehnuma was then used to promote the Chronicles of Narnia, which she treated as a message that she's meant to pen lyrics. “Now, I won't stop writing songs,” she states. As for film-making, Pinky has directed a short movie and is working on music videos for her singer husband Sourabh Joshi. “But, I'm still a lyricist and not pursuing that full-time,” she giggles.

Upcoming works​

Currently, Pinky is writing the title track of a movie for Anurag Kashyap's camp and three for a small-budget project, apart from her husband's next single and one for Nikhil D'Souza. She's working on several international tracks – Canadian, Sri Lankan (rendered by Neeti Mohan), American and so on, all in Hindi and one bilingual by Jonita Gandhi. Pinky's repertoire includes Coke Studio songs Benaam Khwaayishein (Papon) and Tere Bin Main (Ustad Rashid Khan, Richa Sharma and Bombay Jayshree) apart from numbers crooned by Sunidhi Chauhan (Fanaa Ho for Frozen), Arijit Singh and many more. She confesses, “I fall in love with every singer that gives a voice to my words.”

Pinky Poonawala; with Ila Arun (top Right)

Being a female lyricist

Pinky explains that being a woman lyricist has been challenging. “When I started out, movies were mostly male-dominated and songs were from their point of view. The composers as well as directors felt a woman couldn't write from man's perspective. I had to tell them that a writer is neither male or female. An artiste can step into anyone's shoes.” The erratic timing was another hindrance and she lost out on work initially on these accounts. “All that is changing now. Women are everywhere,” she signs off positively.