Kunal Kapoor is a poet and a big Jaya Bachchan fan

Jun 26, 2007 Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, June 26 (IANS) Kunal Kapoor, who caught everyone's eyes with his intense acting in "Rang De Basanti", says cinema is only one of his passions while his other interest is writing poetry.

"I read and write a lot. I'm a struggling poet," he jokes. "I've never shown my work to anyone. I write it all for myself and I'm not interested in showing it to anyone."

Kunal says his inherent shyness propels the poet in him to come to the surface.

"I find it very hard to talk about my relationships, whether it's a girlfriend, sister or just a friend ... I can't bring myself to discuss them in public. That's where the poet in me surfaces. Poetry helps me to exteriorise my thoughts."

Kunal writes religiously every day and has reams and reams of thoughts expressed in his Hindi and English poems.

"I've been writing every day for the last eight years and I keep going back to them (poems) to check my own life. It's deeply cathartic. I don't want to publish it right now.

"Strangely I'm not a loner. I like people but I'm not much of a drinker and I hate parties. For me, fun is being with people I trust and love ... and writing poetry."

One person Kunal adores is Jaya Bachchan, wife of the iconic Amitabh Bachchan. "The minute I heard Jaya-ji is in Pradeep Biswas' 'Laaga Chunari Mein Daag' I was on. Jaya-ji has been an idol from the time when I saw her in films like 'Guddi', 'Uphaar' and 'Abhimaan'."

He says the first day he met Jaya Bachchan on the sets, he was as nervous as a schoolboy. "To me working with Jaya-ji was the biggest high. I never thought I'd one day be in the same film she's doing."

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