Piyush Mishra, the acclaimed actor-writer, has shared his tough, drawn-out struggle with alcoholism, opening up about raw personal moments from a time that disrupted his life on every front. He labeled addiction a “deadly disease” that sneaks up unnoticed, often evading even its victims.
Piyush Mishra on the uncontrollable craving
On Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, Piyush opened up about his battle with alcoholism. He explained, “At one point, you start feeling that drinking alcohol is necessary. Its effect is such that a person wants to drink more. Alcoholism is a deadly disease, and even an alcoholic doesn’t realise that they are one. Even medical science has no cure for alcoholism. There comes a time when, whether you want to or not, you need alcohol, your body craves it. I have felt this 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, nor have I ever gone to a set drunk. It did affect my life—I had an alcoholic mind. While singing ‘Husna’, I had an alcoholic mind; while working on Gulaal, I had an alcoholic mind but I did not consume alcohol at that time. I used to drink because of physical craving, and you cannot suppress that craving.”He continued to speak openly about how alcohol changed his behavior, leading him to do things he later barely recognized. The actor shared, “After drinking, I did many things that later made me feel, ‘This is not me.’ I had issues with my mother, and I said many hurtful things to her while drunk. My mother was living with me in Mumbai, and by then I had understood that I should forgive her for whatever past grievances I had, but even then, I didn’t stop. I said many harsh things to her.”The actor added, “I made many inappropriate and obscene phone calls to women, and the next morning I wouldn’t even remember them. Later, when I mentioned it, they would say, ‘Sir, you said this on the phone last night—such vulgar things.’ I would say, ‘I can’t have said that,’ but they insisted that I did. At that time, I was not in control of myself. I was doing things I didn’t want to do , things I believed I could never do in a sane state of mind.”
Piyush Mishra on fear in the workplace
Mishra owned up to how his actions began spilling over into his work life, leaving co-workers wary of him. “Professionally, people were scared of me because I would behave in such ways. It started affecting my work. People began saying that I am very difficult to work with, and that perception still exists, that I am temperamental and hard to work with. I get tired of explaining that I am not that person anymore; I have largely gotten myself under control.”
Piyush Mishra on spiritual path to control
Though Piyush admits he’s not entirely free of alcohol, he explained how spiritual practices helped him tame his addictions over time. “I have not completely quit alcohol—I still drink occasionally, but not regularly. The craving reduced through spiritual means. My actions and incidents while drinking kept increasing, and then in 2009 I suffered a brain stroke, which affected my right side. After that, I practised Vipassana and controlled my cravings. But I am still an alcoholic—alcoholism never goes away. You can take a daily reprieve. You can arrest the disease, but you can’t get rid of it.” Recalling the chaos of those days, he reflected, “I had become an anti-social person. My work saved me. Otherwise, the things I have done… people would have killed me. Considering the kind of behaviour I had displayed, people would have beaten me to death,” he said.
Piyush Mishra on art hampered by addiction
During his 2024 SCREEN interview, Piyush revealed how alcohol “hampered” his artistic output and dismissed the idea that any drug “enhances” creativity. “I was in a very bad state; it had affected me neurologically. Under the influence of alcohol, I had started to speak nonsense.” He added that sobriety didn’t fully clear his alcoholic thought patterns, leading him to “react differently” in moments. “Like speaking some rubbish in front of elders. I returned from the verge of destruction. I knew if I continued like this, it would be the end of me.”
