Sibal on song

Kapil Sibal talks about foraying into Bollywood as a lyricist, the magic of love, his creative process, and more.

Far, far away from his usual political territory, Kapil Sibal is treading new ground. Upcoming political drama Shorgul marks his debut as a lyricist with a good old romantic Bollywood ballad, Tere Bina. “Politicians can love too,” he jokes and adds on a more serious note, “Over all these years, I’ve seen that the strongest emotion is love. It works wonders and has such magic in itself. For the song, I drew inspiration from the way it makes me feel. We all have a romantic at heart, after all. When I heard the track in its instrumental format, it just tugged at my heart and the artist in me took over.”

About how this outing as a lyricist came about, he says, “I had always been interested in English poetry, and have written and published two books of poems. I realised, however, that if I wanted to express myself at a wider scale, the largest medium to reach out to the masses was through films. That’s when I knew that Hindi lyrics are where I now need to head. The process was rather easy too, like a natural progression. I enjoy writing in Hindi as there are some phrases that just sound so much better when framed in it.”

Walking us through his creative process, Sibal shares that writing for a movie is different from writing a poem since the lyricist must keep in mind the situation within which the song is placed. “I was made aware that the girl in the story has lost two people she loves, her best friend and her husband. So, I knew that the song must carry intense emotion, longing, the angst of separation and yet a sense of closeness and hope. That was the first step. When I heard the melody, I used to just get lost in it and try and put into words what it was trying to say to me. That was how it progressed. Tere bina jee na lage / saathi bana saaya hi raha / milne pe bhi jee na bhara ” Composed by sitar maestro Niladri Kumar, the song has been crooned by Arijit Singh.

The political leader goes on to share that not only does he feel a special connect with verse, but music has also played an important role in his life. “Music is an integral part of my life. I have my own specially made playlist that I carry with me wherever I go. Music is the simplest way to tune out of the stresses of everyday life and be with yourself. It’s a great way to slip into a zone of relaxation,” he muses.

Ask him what genres of music appeal to him as a listener and he says, “I enjoy a variety of genres, really. Ghazals and old Hindi songs are special favourites of mine, along with any track where the lyrics have meaning and let me make an unforgettable connection with the tune.”

Ask him if there are any other talents he has been hiding from the world, and he reveals, “I’m not a singer but I’m told that I can make a good voice-over artiste. I have tried my hand at narrative dubbing, and it turned out pretty good!”

Probe him about his relationship with verse in a larger sense and he quips, “Once you are one with verse, the only vice is wanting to write more of it! Wanting to find the best way to express it, challenging yourself to communicate in language that is simple, so that it can reach deep into another person’s heart. Starting a poem and ending it is like walking a road you barely know but paving a path through it that you knew was there all along.”