Piyush Mishra says Hindi never lost its significance; people like to read it

A passionate theatre artist and an alumnus from National School of Drama Delhi (NSD), actor-writer Piyush Mishra still enjoys spending time on the NSD campus. “Mandi House is my adda. Delhi has changed. A lot of infrastructural development has taken place, har taraf flyovers hain, but people are still the same. Mandi house has also changed, har taraf char boundary lag gayi hain, hum log to kood-faand ke aaya jaya karte the,” says Mishra.

Now settled in Mumbai, Mishra notices some differences between the theatre scene of the two cities. “Students of Delhi University and other universities in the city are aware of the political scenario, changing dynamics of the society and this is duly reflected in their behaviour and work. Unke plays dekh kar maza ata hai... Mumbai cinema mei ghuse rehtey hain.” He adds, “Delhi mei ek culture hai, ‘tu janta hai mera baap kaun hai’.. aur ye awin nahi hai.. Koi chahe toh jugaad laagake PM se bhi mil sakta hai,” the actor adds.

Mishra is in Delhi to attend the Hindi Sahitya Utsav, which celebrates the relevance of Hindi language in Delhi. “Hindi language never lost its significance. People have always liked to read it. Problem is that those writing in Hindi are few.. .and cinema is even worse. Pehle mere pass jo script aati thi vo roman (a combination of Hindi and English) mein hoti thi! Kya hai, kya nahi, main to saala pakad hi nahi pata tha. Lekin ab maine ye rule bna lia hai ki mere pass koi script aayegi toh woh Hindi mein honi chaiye,” he says.

Mishra, who has also authored several books, believes that sometimes using cuss words might not be a bad idea. “Hindi aam bol chaal ki bhaasha hai. Aur bhasha aaisi hi honi chaiye jisko log padh sake, samajh sake. Agar usme galiyam bhi ho toh kya buri baat hai? Galiyan bolte hai log, chalan main hain. Aap badtamiz aur beshram mat baniye, lihaj mat bhuliye,” says the actor, renowned for his songs such as Sarfaroshi ki tamanna (Gulaal , 2009) amd Ik Bagal (Gangs of Wasseypur, 2012).

One of his popular poems ‘Vo kam bhala kya kaam hua’ has cuss word Chu**** . “Log padhte hai woh kavita aur unhe bahut pasand bhi hai . Tarike se bat kahi jaye to log sunte hai, kam se kam mujhe to sunte hai,” says Mishra.