‘It had made me a bitter person’: Priya Malik recalls difficult phase that affected her behavior on ‘Bigg Boss 9’

NEW DELHI: Poet and ‘Bigg Boss 9’ fame Priya Malik opened up about how her personal relationships and journey into motherhood have deeply shaped her poetry and creative expression over the years. She also acknowledged that her time on the reality show coincided with a turbulent phase in her personal life, which reflected in her behaviour at the time.

Priya Malik reflected on how her work has always stemmed from real-life experiences rather than fiction, making her poetry deeply personal and relatable. “Jo jiya hai, wahi likha hai”, she said, emphasising that her writing is rooted in honesty and real emotions, which allows audiences across generations to connect with her work.

Speaking about relationships, Malik shared that both heartbreak and love have significantly influenced her artistic journey. Her early spoken word pieces, including her first performance poem, emerged from a breakup and served as a form of emotional release and self-therapy. “When I was writing them, it was self-healing for me,” she noted.

“Almost 90 per cent of my love poems have come from my relationship with him,” she said, describing love as a force that not only nurtures personal growth but also enhances artistic depth”. She recalled going through a tough period in her life and how it affected her behaviour in the reality show, ‘Bigg Boss 9’.

“My previous marriage was almost on the verge of a breakdown. And I think when things like these happen, they do affect how you project your negativity onto the world as well. So, I think that was one of the reasons why I was always super stressed. It had made me a bitter person. I was always on the edge… I had given people too much power over my emotions,” she admitted, adding that with time, she has evolved into a calmer and more self-aware individual. “I’m now a more self-actualised human being…,” she added.

Priya is known for her beautiful romantic poeteries including ‘Tum Mujhe Kaise Yaad Karoge?’, ‘Ek Mohabbat Aisi bhi’, among others. Malik believes there is a strong connection between personal well-being and creative output. According to her, her current phase of emotional stability and happiness is reflected in her work, which has become “more fluid and calmer” over time.

She and her husband Karan Bakshi welcomed a baby boy in 2024. Malik also spoke about motherhood and described it as a transformative experience that reshaped her identity. “Motherhood rearranges your entire mind, body and heart,” she said. She noted that becoming a mother has made her more empathetic and patient, while also deepening her understanding of her own parents.

The poet revealed that this phase also inspired her to write about her mother, as she began to fully grasp the meaning of parenthood. “Now when I see my mother with my child, I realise what she did for me,” she said, calling it a “beautiful journey.”

Malik has penned the song Adhoora, for singer Papon, for the film Bun Tikki, starring Zeenat Aman, Abhay Deol and Shabana Azmi.

Priya pointed out that the music industry has very few female lyricists, which means most songs even those expressing women’s emotions or perspectives, are written by men. She highlights that only a few names, like Kausar Munir, and few others come to mind when thinking of female writers. She emphasised the need for more women lyricists so that women’s experiences and viewpoints can be represented more authentically in songs.

She shared, “I think the only gap that I see in the market right now is that there are very, very few female lyrics writers. So even the women point of view is covered by the men. So like, if I have to ask you to tell me one female lyrics writer, I don’t know who you will say, maybe Kausar Munir… So I think that’s one thing that I would love for it to have more women writing songs as well.”

The ace poet recently concluded a tour of UK and Ireland. “It was the second time I’ve been to the UK. But this time, we had booked a very big venue and we had really taken a chance with Spoken Word poetry because a lot of people don’t know what a poetry show is about. So people are a little hesitant of coming to a poetry show because people think we are just going to be reciting one poem after another for one and a half hour and they just have to sit there and listen. But London really surprised me and people showed up and how we had very esteemed people in the audience. We had film director Gurinder Chadha, and Seema Anand, the mythologist, in the audience. “

Priya added, “So it was an absolutely beautiful experience and it made me realise that poetry is now becoming a global phenomenon. People are opening up to the idea of poetry and I want people to understand that a poetry show is actually a lot of fun.”

Looking ahead, Malik is working on two poetry book, one in English and one in Hindi, while also exploring songwriting and scriptwriting. (ANI)