Priya Malik on turning author: I wanted to be very sure about taking my journey from stage to page

Actor-poet Priya Malik leaves the audience gasping for more each time she takes the stage to recite her poems. And she is set to up her game this time, as her first book as an author hits the shelves next year.

“I was offered the book in 2019, when Aditi Maheshwari from Vaani Prakashan saw me perform, and emailed me regarding writing a book. But back then, I didn’t feel I was ready to do it,” recalls Malik, adding, “For taking my journey from stage to page, I wanted to be very sure. I had a few viral poems back then, but I wanted to get better at my craft before bringing my book out. Plus, I wanted to do more stage performances. Now I feel I’m at the perfect point in my life to bring out my book.”

Ask her about the pressure that comes along with the author tag, and how challenging was the process of becoming one, she calls it similar to that of writing poems for oneself.

“There’s indeed that pressure when you’re holding a physical copy of your work, however, this book has been marinating in my head since 2019. I always used to say I’ve to be fully pregnant in order to produce a poem. They are always in my head and then one fine day, I type them out,” says Malik. And that’s the case with her first book, too, as it’s been in her “head, heart, body and soul for the last three years”.

Talking about the subject she chose for her first book, Malik says it’s about ‘love’ and that’s something one can never get tired of.

“What makes it special is that it talks about sufi concept of Ishq (love). There are sever stages in sufi ishq -- you have attraction, infatuation, trust, worship, love, passion and then comes death. That is the death of ego because then you become one with person you love. The book is divided into seven parts and each one is beautiful,” shares Malik, hoping that readers, too, will enjoy reading that journey and experiencing it.

While as a poet, Malik has given several memorable stage performances, as an actor, too, she showed her potential in projects such as Sheer Qorma and Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein. Ask her to choose between the two and without doubt, she picks poetry.

“I definitely consider myself a poet first. Poetry came to be before anything. I’ve been reciting poetry ever since I was five. I do enjoy acting, but I’m just a little selective about what acting projects I take. Poetry will always be my first and last love,” she gushes.