Pawan Kalyan was first reader to my poetry: Renu Desai

HYDERABAD: Renu Desai started her career as a model. She made her Telugu debut opposite Pawan Kalyan and married her first hero. She worked as a costume designer for his movies. After 11 years, they were seperated and Renu returned to her hometown and is active in Marathi films now. She turned a producer with Mangalashtak Once More and then director with Ishq Wala Love in 2014.These are the things so many people know about her, but what is more interesting is, Renu Desai is a writer and poet also. She writes good poetry with deep feelings and thoughts. She posted some of her poems on social media also and received lots of praise. We tried to showcase her as a poet and tried to explore the other side of Renu Desai. Here is some exclusive and interesting things about her life as a poet and how Pawan Kalyan encouraged her writings etc. Extracts:

Question: You are known to Telugu people as Pawan Kalyan's wife, a costume designer for his movies and now as a movie producer. Now you have added another feather in your cap as a writer when you posted your poems in Instagram. It was a surprise to Pawan fans and all of them who follow you. When did you start writing?
Answer: I have always been interested in writing. Ever since I was a kid, I was a voracious reader. After Akira was born in 2005, I made it a habit to maintain a diary and put my thoughts into words. I started off with writing short stories which impressed Pawan very much. He encouraged me to continue my work, but I did not give it much thought back then.

Question: Pawan Kalyan is known to be a voracious reader. Has he had any influence over you?
Answer: Not at all. I have always been fascinated with reading. Not a day went by during my childhood without me reading a book and I made a note of all the things that turned my attention to my diary.
Question: Did this hobby play a role in getting you closer to Kalyan?
Answer: I wouldn't say this was the sole factor, there were many, but this was one of them too.

Question: When was the first time you made your poetry public?
Answer: I posted my poem for the first time in December of 2014. In the beginning I did not even have a social media account. Once I entered the movie business, my PR team set up my account. In 2015 I fell severely ill and was bedridden. During that time I started writing and filled up four to five diaries. From them I selected a few poems and nervously posted them on Twitter and the response filled me with joy. I received several complimentary messages.

Question: Who is the first reader for your latest poems?
Answer: There is no first reader per say but in a way the person who first read my work and encouraged me is Kalyan - he is my first reader. Whether it was my short stories or my poems, he was always encouraging. After that it is mostly my friends. They have always been supportive and encouraging and made sure I write more.
Question: Poetry is a complex form of literature and a very hard one to master. And yet you have shown an ease in mastering this form. Is there anyone who has inspired you in this path?
Answer: I do not have any favourite poets, but the works of Pablo Neruda have always been one of my favourites to read.

Question: But there doesn't seem to be much of his influence in your work?
Answer: All my works have been spontaneous works of creativity. I never sit down specifically to write a poem. They just come to me in my moments. Sometimes, it hardly takes five minutes to write a poem. Basically I'm a film writer and so when I'm referred to as a poet, I feel a bit shy.

Question: So maybe your poetic work is the foundation for your entry as a lyricist in the film Industry?
Answer: No, not at all. Being a movie lyricist is completely different from being a poet. I'm not interested in being a lyricist, but rather I like to write stories and scripts for movies.
Question: Do your kids know that their mother is a poet?
Answer: Yes in fact during a poetry recital Akira read one of my poems. All his teachers and friends were really impressed. He keeps telling me how proud he felt. In fact, he reads all my poems and gives me his frank opinion.
Question: You have said many times in the past that Akira is also an avid reader of books and literature. Does that result in long form literature discussions?
Answer: Yes, Akira is a very mature child. He is also a good friend to me. He reads all my works and gives feedback always. He has begun writing after seeing me write.
Question: In your poetry there are still references to how much you like Kalyan and how bad you felt after you separated. Would you say that has been an influence?
Answer: Not at all. I write poetry about many things. Feeling such as love, marriage and conflict are all part of life and exist in the life of every woman. People usually pick out the sad poems and put a tag saying that I wrote them because I miss Pawan. Pawan and I split on 2012 and I began writing in 2014. If I started writing in 2012 it would have made sense to say that I miss Pawan but after two years why will I write about him? All those are just feelings in my poems. I have written over 250 poems which display many feelings of which only a few I have posted on social media, that too because of my friends. What I mean is, splitting is a heart-breaking experience for anyone, but there is no point hanging on to it. Life doesn't stop. Both Pawan and I have taken our separate paths. I have always been an independent woman and still I am.

Question: Is there any message you want to convey through your poetry?
Answer: I do not intend to give any message to anyone through my poetry. But I do receive a lot of messages saying "You are an inspiration to us. You are an example of how a woman should be".
Question: There seems to be spiritual angle in your work.
Answer: I do not know about all that. All I know is one thing, You should live in the present. Who knows what will happen in the future? Today is the only thing in our hands. We should do our bit and forget about the rest. Should be happy with what we have. That is what I believe. That is why I am smiling always.
Question: When will we get a chance to read the rest of your poetry?
Answer: Soon. I am currently working on that. I am bringing my poems out to the public in the form of a book. Many of my fans are Telugu speaking so I plan to translate them into Telugu also. I am pleased about the manner in which they are turning out. I hope to bring them out soon.
Question: I hope that you come back with many more books to mesmerize us with your work. Best of luck!
Answer: Thank You!