A 60-year-old poet who turned down Bollywood stardom found his real audience on TikTok, where Gen Z discovered revolution tastes like philosophy wrapped in cigarette smoke. The irony stings. Piyush Mishra spent three decades chasing applause in Delhi theatre and Mumbai's dark corners - broke, battling demons, writing verses nobody asked for. Then one morning in 2022, his phone buzzed. TikTok. Instagram Reels. YouTube. Suddenly, twenty-year-olds are lip-syncing to "Aarambh Hai Prachand" like it's the anthem they've been waiting their whole lives to scream. The Accidental Cult Moment Piyush Mishra performs “Aarambh Hai Prachand” live in Vadodara ((@barodians/Instagram) "Aarambh Hai Prachand" (The beginning is fierce) - released decades earlier in Rang De Basanti - wasn't supposed to be a Gen Z rallying cry. It was supposed to sit in a film's background, do its job, fade. But something shifted. Kids started splicing it into workout reels, protest montages, motivational clips ...
A 60-year-old poet who turned down Bollywood stardom found his real audience on TikTok, where Gen Z discovered revolution tastes like philosophy wrapped in cigarette smoke. The irony stings. Piyush Mishra spent three decades chasing applause in Delhi theatre and Mumbai's dark corners - broke, battling demons, writing verses nobody ...
A 60-year-old poet who turned down Bollywood stardom found his real audience on TikTok, where Gen Z discovered revolution tastes like philosophy wrapped in cigarette smoke. The irony stings. Piyush Mishra spent three decades chasing applause in Delhi theatre and Mumbai's dark corners - broke, battling demons, writing verses nobody ...
A 60-year-old poet who turned down Bollywood stardom found his real audience on TikTok, where Gen Z discovered revolution tastes like philosophy wrapped in cigarette smoke. The irony stings. Piyush Mishra spent three decades chasing applause in Delhi theatre and Mumbai's dark corners - broke, battling demons, writing verses nobody ...