'We are telling more realistic stories than before': Actor-lyricist Swanand Kirkire

Swanand Kirkire believes in doing a job with utmost passion and not waiting for results. Right enough, he acted in Sandeep Modi’s Marathi film Chumbak and won the National Award as the Best Supporting Actor for it. “I feel great. The award was unexpected because acting is something I’ve started doing now. This is my first film as an actor. I’m really humbled and grateful,” says the actor-lyricist-writer, who has earlier won the National Award for best lyrics twice 'Bande Me Tha Dum...Vande Mataram' from Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) and 'Behti Hawaa Sa Tha Woh...' from 3 Idiots (2009).

Swanand played a mentally-slow 45-year-old man Prasanna in the film, which was the story of the relationship between him and a 15-year-old restaurant table cleaner Baalu (Sahil Jadhav). The actor confesses that the portrayal was tough in every way. “Challenge is something I have not faced as an actor,” says he, referring to his maiden experience of facing the camera. He adds, “I totally relied on and trusted my director. I told him, ‘If you say this is okay, I’ll agree. If you say it’s not okay, I’ll give as many retakes as you want me to’. I surrendered myself to the director completely and the results are here.” He credits everything to teamwork, including writer Saurabh Bhave, the costume department, cameraman and look designers. “We experimented in a lot of things. I worked on Prasanna’s soul and they worked on his persona.” Swanand adds that he merely manifested all their efforts on the screen. Part of the prep for him also meant meeting doctors and understanding what autism is, including nitty-gritty such as Mild Autism.

Changing face of films

Though he has won the coveted award as a lyricist as well as an actor, Swanand feels blessed that he doesn’t have to choose between the two. “God has given me the opportunity to do both,” says he. He has mostly been associated with content-driven works whether his debut, Sudhir Mishra’s Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003) or 'Tu Kisi Rail Si' in Masaan (2015). He has the same notion about films as well. “We are not just making song and dance films but other stuff as well. We are telling more realistic stories than before. Films like Mission Mangal and Batla House are doing well. It’s a good thing, our audiences are listening to stories,” he points out. The dialogue writer is also excited about the new breed of actors. “There are some extremely good performers today. I love Vicky Kaushal as an actor,” says he about the hero in whose debut, Masaan, Swanand wrote and sang Tu Kisi Rail Si. As far as lyricists go, Swanand tells us that he loves the works of Manoj Muntashir (Galliyan in Ek Villain, 2014) Varun Grover (Ud-Daa Punjab in Udta Punjab, 2016) and Kumaar (Tera Ban Jaunga in Kabir Singh), who is also his friend,” says he.

Coming up

As far as his future works are concerned, he has several projects in his kitty. “I have acted in Ekta Kapoor’s series, The State vs Nanavati, which stars Manav Kaul, Angad Bedi, Saurabh Shukla and others. I am writing lyrics for a couple of films, too,” he signs off.