Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 24, 2017)

Shruti Haasan, who turned heads with her red carpet appearances at the recently concluded Cannes International Film Festival, is keen to add another feather to her cap.

After establishing herself as an actress and singer, Shruti now wants to make a debut behind-the-scenes. “I’ve always been interested in writing and often pen the lyrics of my own songs. I also write short poems and stories when I am travelling. So writing a film is something I will definitely explore this year,” Shruti told Mirror, adding that she also turned producer with a short film centred on social awareness last year. Next up, she also plans to release four-five, multilingual small budget films under her own banner.

On her 29th birthday two years ago, her father, veteran actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan, with whom she has recently wrapped up Sabaash Naidu, reportedly gifted her a scriptwriting software along with a writing course because he wanted her to hone her writing skills, which had started to sparkle by the time she had turned 15. Shruti had shared pictures of herself writing lyrics in a park during a recent holiday in London. When asked if direction is on the agenda next, she said, “Direction is a huge responsibility, and though given a chance I would love to direct too, I cannot be flippant about it. I have seen my father in action and I know a director can make or break careers as people depend solely on their vision when they wield the microphone. So I would like to go into writing for now,” she signed off.