MUMBAI // India's communications minister, already a poet in his spare time, has found another outlet for his creative ambitions: penning a slushy love song for a Bollywood movie.
Despite his challenging role as a minister and government troubleshooter, Kapil Sibal took up an offer by the actor-director, Aditya Om, to work on the film Bandook (Gun) and wrote four songs, one of which made it into the movie.
Mr Om said that Mr Sibal's romantic number "showcases the pangs of separation of two lovers".
"His exuberant knowledge of literature has enabled him to pen beautiful, lovey-dovey lyrics," he added.
The Hindi lyrics include the lines: "romantic eyes, admire shyly, declare love silently".
The film, due to be released this month, examines at gun culture in northern India and the link between crime and politics.
"I really appreciate [Mr Sibal's] knowledge of the vast subject that is portrayed in my film, which attracted him more than anything," said Mr Om, a rising star looking to break into the mainstream.
Mr Sibal, 64, a member of the Congress Party, already has two collections of poetry under his belt and has linked poems to politics in the past.
The lawyer-turned-politician told The Economic Times newspaper that he normally wrote on his iPad during flights, and he was very busy with work when he wrote the lyrics.
"The Bandook song is already available in ringtones, though I haven't got it as yet," he said.
In his ministerial post, Mr Sibal has come under fire from free-speech activists after he championed an amendment to India's IT act in 2009 that makes it illegal to post "grossly offensive" comments online.
Hackers attacked and defaced his website in November amid protests against the law.