Poet, writer, singer and actor Swanand Kirkire will be returning to the Spoken Fest stage this weekend. The writer, who was a part of the inception years of the popular speaking festival in Mumbai, sat down for an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha and revealed that he has special plans for the festival this year. Kirkire said that while he plans to sing a few of his hit songs that are popular among his fans, he plans to present a few writings that he has written from a woman’s perspective this year at the fest.
“I don’t want to repeat myself over there so I am going to do something different. People want me to sing my songs and all, that I am going to sing them. But apart from that, I am going to present a few new numbers. I am actually trying to present a set where I am presenting a man writing as a woman. I have written some songs and poetry which is from the woman’s point of the view. I want to present that. Instead of talking about girls, it will be seeing life from a girl’s point of view. And how a man sees it,” he told us exclusively.
“I have written some songs that are from a woman’s point of view, Bavra Mann being an example of it. Poets can explore that easily, I feel they have the sensibility to do it. Most of the poets have done this, Sufi poetries are that. That’s very interesting so I want to explore that and present a set like that over there,” he added.
Spoken Fest has gained popularity over the years. While writers and poets often grace the stage to present their works, over the years, we’ve also seen actors and performances candidly pour their hearts on the stage. Videos of the same have gone viral as well. Ask Kirkire if Spoken Fest has become a space for people to be vulnerable, the Bavra Mann singer agreed it is.
“The biggest problem in this world is nobody is listening to you. That’s the basic problem. Everybody has something to say and nobody is listening. So Spoken Fest gives that space to many such artists because artists, actors also do unconventional things. They are actors but they do different things — narrate poetry, perform a piece. But everybody is doing something which they don’t do usually in their lives that why it makes Spoken Fest stage a vulnerable space,” Kirkire said.
Speaking about his association with the festival, Kirkire said, “Spoken Fest is a very, very renowned venture. Now, they have made a mark in terms of making the spoken word popular and taking it to people. There are a lot of music festivals and there are a lot of other festivals happening. But Spoken Fest is the only festival where poets speak, stories are told. It is a festival of spoken words. I know the team, I was a part of the team in the first two years. After three years, they’ve called me to do this, I am very happy because I love the people who organise this and I also love the people who come to listen to it. It is a great venue, ambience, and lineup. I have never seen people loving spoken word so much.” He added, “I was also amazed to see so many people love to hear.”
Spoken Fest 2024 is taking place on February 3 and 4. Besides Swanand Kirkire, Vishal Bhardwaj, Rekha Bhardwaj, Nikita Gill, Varun Grover, Niharika NM, Amol Parashar, Dolly Singh, Nayab Midha, Swanand Kirkire, Abish Mathew, DOT., Azhar Iqbal, Sriti Jha, Sayani Gupta, and 60 more artists will be a part of the festival this year.
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