Piyush MishraThe acclaimed actor-writer has shared his long and difficult battle with alcoholism, opening up about the raw personal moments of a time when it disrupted his life. Addiction, he said, is a “deadly disease” that creeps in unnoticed, often avoiding even the victims.
Piyush Mishra on uncontrollable desire
In Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, Piyush talked about his battle with alcoholism. He explained: “At some point, you begin to feel the need to drink alcohol. Its effect is that a person wants to drink more. Alcoholism is a deadly disease, and even the alcoholic does not realize that it is. Even medical science does not have a cure for alcoholism. There comes a time when, like it or not, you need alcohol, your body wants it. I’ve felt that myself.”
Piyush Mishra sober on set
Piyush revealed that despite his struggles with alcoholism, he never drank while working. “I have never acted after drinking, I have never gone to a drunken party. It affected my life: I had an alcoholic craving. While I was singing ‘Husna’, I had an alcoholic craving; while I was working on Gulaal, I had an alcoholic craving but I did not consume alcohol at that time. I drank because of physical craving, and you cannot suppress that craving.“He went on to talk openly about how alcohol changed his behavior, causing him to do things he barely knew he was doing. The actor shared, “After drinking, I did a lot of things that made me feel like, ‘This isn’t me.'” I had problems with my mother, and I said a lot of hurtful things to her when I was drunk. My mother lived with me in Mumbai, and by then I understood that I should forgive her for my past grievances, but even then I didn’t stop. I said a lot tough things to him.”The actor added: “I made a lot of inappropriate and obscene phone calls to women, and the next day I wouldn’t remember it. Later, when I mentioned it, they would say, ‘Sir, you said this on the phone last night, such mundane things’.” I would have said, ‘I can’t say that’, but they insisted. At that time, I was not in control of myself. I was doing things I didn’t want to do, things I thought I could never do in a sane state of mind.“
Piyush Mishra on fear in the workplace
Mishra revealed how his actions began to spill over into his work life, leaving colleagues wary of him. “Professionally, people were afraid of me because I would act like that. It started to affect my work. People started saying that I’m very difficult, and that perception still exists, that I’m hot-tempered and difficult to work with. I get tired of explaining that I’m not that person anymore, I’ve largely taken control of myself.“
Piyush Mishra on the spiritual path of control
While Piyush admits he doesn’t go without alcohol, he explained how spiritual practices helped him tame his addiction over time. “I haven’t given up alcohol completely, I still drink occasionally, but not regularly. Cravings were reduced through spiritual means. My acts and incidents of drinking increased, and then in 2009 I suffered a stroke, which affected my right side. After that, I practiced Vipassana and controlled my cravings. But I’m still an alcoholic: alcoholism never goes away. You can take a daily break. You can arrest the disease, but you can’t get rid of it.’ Remembering the chaos of those times, he reflected: “I became an antisocial person. My work saved me. Otherwise, the things I’ve done… people would kill me. Considering the behavior I showed, people would have beaten me up,” he said.
Piyush Mishra on art hampered by addiction
During a 2024 SCREEN interview, Piyush revealed how alcohol “hindered” his artistic output and denied that any drug “enhances” creativity. “I was in a very bad state; it affected me neurologically. Under the influence of alcohol, I started talking nonsense.” He added that sobriety didn’t completely wash away his alcoholic thought patterns, causing him to “react differently” at times. “Like saying some rubbish in front of the elders. I came back from the brink of destruction. I knew that if I continued like this, it would be the end of me.’
