Piyush MishraThe acclaimed actor-writer has shared his difficult, long struggle with alcohol addiction, opening up about the raw personal moments of a time that disrupted his life on every front. He termed addiction a “deadly disease” that goes unnoticed and often escapes even its victims.
Piyush Mishra on uncontrollable cravings
On Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, Piyush opened up about his battle with alcohol addiction. He explained, “At some point you start feeling that drinking is necessary. The effect is such that the person wants to drink more. Alcohol addiction is a fatal disease and even an alcoholic does not realize that they are one. Even medical science has no cure for alcohol addiction.” There comes a time when, whether you want it or not, you need alcohol, your body craves it. I have felt this myself.”
Piyush Mishra looked calm on the set
Piyush revealed that despite battling alcohol addiction, he never drank alcohol while working. “I have never acted after drinking alcohol, nor have I ever been on a set drunk. It had an impact on my life – my mind was drunk. My mind was drunk while singing ‘Husna’; my mind was drunk while working on Gulaal, but I didn’t drink alcohol at that time. I used to drink because of physical craving, and you can’t suppress that craving.“He continued to talk openly about how alcohol changed his behavior, causing him to do things he barely recognized afterward. The actor shared, “I did a lot of things after drinking that later made me feel, ‘This is not me.’ I had problems with my mother and had said many hurtful things to her while drunk. My mother lived with me in Mumbai and by then I had understood that I should forgive her for whatever past grudges I had, but still I did not stop. i said a lot Harsh Things for him.”The actor further added, “I made so many inappropriate and obscene phone calls to women, and the next morning I wouldn’t even remember them. Later, when I mentioned it, she said, ‘Sir, you said this on the phone last night – so many obscene things.’ I’d say, ‘I couldn’t have said that,’ but he insisted I said that. I was not in control of myself at that time. I was doing things I didn’t want to do, things I believed I could never do in a healthy state of mind.“
Piyush Mishra on fear at workplace
Mishra admitted how his actions began to impact his work life, causing colleagues to become wary of him. “Professionally, people were afraid of me because I behaved that way. It started affecting my work. People started saying I was very difficult to work with, and that perception still exists, that I’m temperamental and difficult to work with. I get tired of explaining that I’m not that person anymore; I’ve got myself under control to a great extent.“
Piyush Mishra on the spiritual path to control
Although Piyush admits that he is not completely free from alcohol, he revealed how spiritual practices helped him overcome his addiction over time. “I haven’t given up alcohol completely – I still drink occasionally, but not regularly. The cravings subsided through spiritual means. My actions and incidents while drinking continued to increase and then in 2009 I had a brain stroke, which affected my right side. After that, I practiced Vipassana and controlled my cravings. But I’m still an alcoholic—the addiction to alcohol never goes away. You can take daily relief. You can prevent the disease, but you can’t get rid of it.” Recalling the chaos of those days, he said, “I had become an anti-social person. My work saved me. Otherwise, whatever I did… people would have killed me. Given the kind of behavior I 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 “inhibited” his artistic output and rejected the idea that any drug “enhances” creativity. “I was in a very bad state; it had neurological effects on me. Under the influence of alcohol, I started talking nonsense.” He said that sobriety did not completely clear his alcoholic thought patterns, causing him to “react differently” at moments. “Like saying some nonsense in front of elders. I returned from the brink of destruction. I knew that if I continued like this, it would be the end of me.”
