‘Poetry is close to my heart’

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A still from 1920: Evil Returns

Donning different hats is nothing new for Vikram Bhatt. Now the scriptwriter, director and producer has turned into a lyricist for his latest film 1920: Evil Returns. Aftab Shivdasani who is playing a poet in the horror film will be mouthing poetry penned by Vikram.

Vikram turning poet might come as a surprise for his fans, but ask the filmmaker himself and he says that poetry has been a part of his life for so long that he cannot say exactly since when he started writing poems.
“It’s like I have grown up with poetry,” says Vikram.
So what exactly inspires Vikram to write poetry? “Most of my poetry is inspired from personal experiences. Sometimes I come across things that make me say ‘wow’. These observations and feelings are what make my poetry,” says Vikram.
Be it the chaos of film sets or tranquility of his home, poetry comes to him everywhere, he says, “I never sit down to write a poem. It just comes to me on its own.”
He says it’s very different from writing film scripts that’s usually time-bound. “I don’t write poetry under any pressure or to earn money. So it’s altogether a different experience. Poetry is leisure, it’s a hobby, it’s very close to my heart,” says Vikram.
As much as Vikram likes to write poems, he enjoys reading as well. Robert Frost is his favourite poet and he often sits down to read his poetry, he says. In fact, the filmmaker had toyed with the idea of publishing his poems.
However, now he has decided against it. “Most of my poems are about my personal feelings and emotions. They are very personal, and therefore now I won’t get them published,” he says.
However, for now we will at least get to hear the translated excerpts of his poetry in the film. Originally penned in English, the lines have been translated by writer Sanjay Masoom in Hindi to fit into the film’s context. And Vikram seems to be happy with the result. “Sanjay has done a fabulous job of translation. He is a poet himself and has captured the essence of my poetry very well,” reveals Vikram.