From television serials to films like Page 3 and Honeymoon Travels, reality TV, and stand-up comedy, Sandhya Mridul has captivated audiences with her book of poems titled Untamed. She reveals that the writing was never intended to be a book but rather a journey of healing. 'You could say I channeled the entire healing process into this book,' she explains. 'I have always valued pain and have lost many people in my life, so instead of dwelling on negative emotions, I focused on self-improvement, and this book is the result of that effort.'
Actor Shabana Azmi, who launched her book, noted that courage is a central theme. Mridul would write a few pages and share them with friends, some of whom were highly supportive. 'Even now, when I hold the book and see my name on it, it feels like a miracle. The courage was in allowing myself to feel everything, which both broke and healed me,' she reflects.
Her on-screen persona as a strong-willed, mischievous girl contrasts with the philosophical slice-of-life nature of her book, but she explains, 'I have never let the child in me die. The child is a brat, and my friends are shocked by my book of poems. Shabana jee told my mom, 'She is our group’s joker and very naughty. How did this book happen?'
Two months ago, Mridul performed her stand-up comedy show. 'I am embracing various aspects of myself that are not just goofy, fun-loving, and bold. I was ignoring a part of me. Mischief, humor, and seriousness are all part of who I am,' she elaborates.
She emphasizes that being funny doesn't mean one isn't sad. 'I started following the late Hollywood actor Robin Williams on social media,' she recalls, admitting she could sense his pain.
Mridul recalls a period of emotional turmoil. 'I became difficult for people to handle. They didn't want to see the other side of me. I was tired of being misunderstood.' The book began during the pandemic. During Covid, writing consumed Mridul so much that she would finish her chores and rush to her diary, pulling out her green pen to write furiously. 'It was like a spell,' she describes.
Did writing the book help her work through her issues? 'It brought tremendous awareness of what I was feeling. In my initial writing, there is a lot of feeling of being less than what I am and letting people down. I failed to accept the shadowy side of life and started believing in the image of me as this bubbly cool rockstar,' she muses.
So, does she now see the thorn gone from memory? 'Yes, but I also know that there will be more thorns,' she shrugs, adding that she now has the tools to deal with them.
Mridul's celebrity friends, including Vidya Balan, Dia Mirza, Konkona Sen Sharma, and Tannishtha Mukherjee, have been reading her poems aloud and savoring the emotions expressed in them. Now they are urging her to read her poems on stage.
'Most of us are conditioned to ignore strong-willed women. They appear to have everything under control when the fact is everyone needs love, attention, help, and assistance. Being strong doesn't mean being happy. I had a talk with [Indian journalist] Barkha Dutt on menopause and how women are conditioned to deal with their phases. [But] why is it only 'her' problem?' she questions.
Mridul has beautifully transformed pain into poetry. 'When I lost my dear brother, I saw my mum’s vacant eyes and felt I had lost a limb. I moved from Mumbai to Delhi to be with her.' But there have been brickbats she's had to contend with. 'People have asked me, why do you take so many gaps? I am not a hustler for the sake of it. I am on social media when I want to put out relevant content. It is not my currency. How can you put “likes” over craft and skills?'
Ted X is taking Mridul to colleges, and she continues talking to today’s youth. 'I want to spend more time writing and being on stage. And yes, now I have been attending and enjoying literary festivals.'
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