Lyricist, poet, and screenwriter Puneet Sharma opens up about his creative evolution, from the viral poem Tum Kaun Ho Bey? to writing songs for acclaimed films like Bareilly Ki Barfi, Sanju, and Jolly LLB 3. In this exclusive conversation with Moneycontrol, he reflects on the craft of balancing poetry with cinema, the moral choices behind his lyrics, and why Hua Na feels like a deeply personal conversation with the country. Honest, introspective, and unfiltered, this is Puneet Sharma beyond the rhymes.
When the poem Tum Kaun Ho Bey? went viral during the CAA-NRC protests, it did more than make its creator famous, it redefined how he saw himself as a writer.
“In every artist's career there comes a reference point, a work that becomes their introduction line. Early in my career, it used to be, he wrote for Yashraj. Then came Bareilly Ki Barfi. Later it shifted to Sanju, he wrote Main Badhiya Tu Bhi Badhiya. All of these were cool as introductions to me as a professional artist, but none of them felt like a complete representation of who I was,” he said.
“Then came the CAA-NRC protests. I had written the poem Tum Kaun Ho Bey? a year earlier, even shot it on a professional camera by my friend Rahul, but it went unnoticed. During the protest, I recited it again and this time in a raw, poorly shot video by someone from far away, and it went viral. Suddenly, that became my introduction line. Almost like pop culture phrases. For the first time, I felt it was the right one. People were not just naming my work, they were introducing me with something that carried my original voice, something that truly reflected what I stand for.”
On Wearing Many Hats
“As I grew up as a writer, I began to understand that all these different hats are actually just one. Writing takes many shapes, but at its core, it is always storytelling. For me, poetry is where I process and explain complex questions to myself first. It is personal, and sometimes I share it with others. Even Tum Kaun Ho Bey? was a deeply personal poem before it became public.”
He traces his journey from theatre and radio to cinema. “Theatre also opened the door to dialogue writing. While working on plays and scripts, I began to understand how language shapes character and drama. At the same time while writing for radio I learned the art to tell story without visuals. And when I decided to move towards cinema, I read everything I could about screenwriting and dialogue writing. What struck me was that a screenplay is actually closer to poetry than to prose. It is not just about story mechanics but about rhythm, imagery, and the flow of emotions told in a poetic way.”
On Writing for Films
“A writer’s job, in many ways, is like any other artistic job on a film. If I were an actor, I would have to understand my role in the script and adapt myself to merge into the film, rather than trying to shine separately as a star. I approach lyrics in exactly that way. My effort is always to make the song feel like it belongs to the world of the film.”
He compares writing lyrics to architecture. “It is similar to how a good architect works before designing a building, they study the geography, the weather, the culture, the personality, even the philosophy of the people who will inhabit it. In the same way, my lyrics must carry my craft but still sound like the voice of the characters, the story, and the world they are living in.”
On Balancing Poetry and Popular Appeal
“I don’t think anyone can write a viral song. In my opinion, virality is not about the writing, it is mostly about big budgets being pushed into marketing, and even then it is unpredictable. What I can do, however, is write to different pitches, from subtle to melodramatic, depending on the language of the film. That’s part of the craft, and I don’t shy away from it.”
He admits there were times he compromised early on. “When I was struggling to make ends meet, I wrote things that were not bad, but they were not true to what I wanted to stand for. I promised myself I would never repeat that, even if it meant going back home.”
On Writing for Screen
Asked about the difference between writing dialogues and lyrics, he said simply: “Just the amount of time and long term commitment.”
On Inspirations
“The list is very long if I were to truly show all the shades that shaped the color I am today, but let me condense it. One poet who really defined my adulthood was Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh. The door to Muktibodh was actually opened for me by my favorite satirist, Harishankar Parsai, who revolutionized the way I looked at society.”
He explains how Muktibodh’s abstract poetry transformed his understanding of politics and art. “They swallowed me whole, like an ego sinking into coal tar.”
“As a lyricist, if I had to name only one influence, it would be Shailendra. If Muktibodh taught me how the simplest truths can be woven into metaphorical complexities, Shailendra taught me the opposite — how to express the most complex truths in the simplest way. He remains the lyricist I look up to as my north star.”
On Jolly LLB 3 and His Upcoming Work
“When Subhash ji first called me to collaborate, the opportunity itself was exciting. I already knew his sensibilities as a director and the kind of stories he tells, so when he narrated the situation and showed me the visuals, I immediately felt that I had something to say here, something the story wanted to express and something I, as a writer, wanted to give.”
He reveals that the song Hua Na from Jolly LLB 3 came after a creative back-and-forth. “Everything was moving smoothly until we saw the song against the visuals, and it just didn’t fit. That moment really hurt, but it was a professional problem, and I had to find a solution. This time Anurag composed a tune first, keeping the visuals in mind. I listened to it again and again until the idea of the song Hua Na came to me.”
“For me, Hua Na carries a very personal resonance. Just like Tum Kaun Ho Bey was my way of answering people about my love for my country, Hua Na is a complaint to the same country.”
He adds with satisfaction, “After a long time, I saw a filmmaker do full justice to my song. Hua Na plays from start to end, with no dialogue interruptions or audible distractions. Subhash ji gave it space, treated it as storytelling rather than a musical interlude.”
On Pressure and Connection
“The only real pressure I feel after writing a song for a film is whether I have done justice to the movie or not. That is always my first concern. The secondary pressure is whether the song will reach the people it is meant for.”
“I can only hope that someday, someone listens to the song while feeling the same emotion I wrote it from, and in that moment, they find a connection. For me, that will always be the biggest success — to connect with another human being I have never met through my art.”
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