'People have forcibly termed me Leftist'

The voice behind Ik daur of the Google Reunion ad, Piyush Mishra, says he's as political as they come, but people are hell-bent on finding political innuendos in his songs

There are millions of people who secretly shed a tear or two while watching the Google Reunion ad. What everyone’s appreciating is the entire package -- the storyline, the music, the song and the concept. And in between all this is singer Piyush Mishra, who has sung the song Ik daur tha. With his powerful voice that exudes varied emotions, the actor, singer and scriptwriter, has managed to deliver a gem of a song.

Piyush Mishra has penned lyrics for songs like Arrey ruk ja re bandeh (Black Friday), Aarambh hai prachand (Gulaal) among others

Talking about how the song worked out for him, Mishra says, “I have worked a lot with Amit Sharma, who has directed this commercial for ad agency Ogilvy. Even Clinton Cerejo, the musician behind the song, is somebody who I have worked with in the past. They approached me and I sang this song, just like I would sing any other song -- with passion.” But what Mishra had no idea of, was how much the ad and the song would catch on. Within five days, the video went viral on YouTube generating more than four million hits. Mishra laughs when we remind him. “I’m not on Facebook or Twitter. In fact, I’m not even familiar with the ‘C’ of computers, and had no idea what it means to have a number of hits on YouTube. It’s only when Kolaveri Di had gone viral that I understood what it means,” he says.

Being a lyricist himself, what did he think of the lyrics written by Neelesh Jain? “I really liked the lyrics. In fact, it was a five minute song initially with three stanzas but was shortened to three-and-a-half minutes. I did change the meter here and there, but the entire credit of the beautiful song goes to Neelesh,” says Piyush. While his own songs like Arre ruk ja re bandeh (Black Friday), Aarambh hai prachand (Gulaal) and Ik bagal (Gangs of Wasseypur -- Part 2) have a hint of political innuendos, Mishra says he’s apolitical. “I have no connection with politics.

People have termed me Leftist. Society and human nature are the same in my eyes. My viewpoint is that of the common man. I don’t know any other way of writing scripts or lyrics for a song. I don’t know how people can write songs in the air. Mine have to be rooted in reality. When I write songs or scripts, the actor in me speaks,” says Mishra, who has done notable roles in films like Maqbool, Gulaal, Gangs of Wasseypur and Rockstar.

Balancing all three -- acting, songwriting and scriptwriting, might seem like a tough act to some, but according to Mishra, it comes naturally to him. “I make no extra attempt, it just happens. I have no process but when people ask me, I give them complicated answers like ‘I observe, I concentrate, I imagine etc’,” he laughs. Simply put, Mishra believes he’s gifted, rather than talented. “It is a blessing. I think somebody up there wants me to do all this,” says Mishra, who has written the script for Karan Malhotra’s next Shuddhi and is currently busy penning a script for Amrit Sagar. u00a0

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