Singer-actor-writer Piyush Mishra battled alcoholism for nearly two decades, a struggle that began in the 1980s. Around 2005, he reached a turning point and chose to seek help with an aim to reclaim control over his life and career. Looking back, the multifaceted actor admits that letting alcohol take over his life remains his biggest regret.
On his biggest regret
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Piyush took a walk down memory lane, revisiting the darker chapters of his life, from his prolonged struggle with alcohol to infidelity.
Ask him about the biggest regret of his life and Piyush takes no time to mention “alcohol”.
“The biggest regret is about alcohol. Had I not drowned my life in alcohol and had more control over it in the initial stage itself, I would have achieved bigger things in my life… Intoxication kills creativity. And that (alcoholism) was a big mistake of my life and continues to be the biggest regret of my life,” Piyush tells us over a Zoom call.
“Shuru shuru mein chhodh deta ya control karta toh aaj alag hota aur bada kaam kiya hota (If I had quit it initially, things would have been different for me),” he adds.
Talking about cheating on his wife, Piyush shares, “If you have confessed to your wife, it is a big deal. I had a storm brewing inside me before I told my wife everything, and when I told her everything, it calmed down. My wife understood and told me, ‘Koi baat nahi. Tumne kuch galtiyan ki kuch maine (it’s okay, you made some mistakes and I did some). She told me that my heart is clean now after coming out with the truth, and it’s time to move on and live our lives.”
Was telling her the truth tough?
“Well, it was easy for me. People came to me and said, ‘It must have been tough. ’ But it wasn’t the case for me. I was at peace after telling her the truth. I did wrong to her, and it was important for me to tell her the truth to wash away my sins. I felt liberated after telling her the truth,” says Piyush, who began his career in theatre and later made his film debut with Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se.. in 1998.
On opening his life in his book
Piyush has also discussed deeply personal experiences in his autobiographical novel, Tumhari Auqaat Kya Hai, Piyush Mishra, from getting sexually assaulted as a kid, his love affairs and alcoholism. Publishing house HarperCollins India released the English translation of the novel last month.
“I didn’t want to hide anything about my life. But I tried to write it without making it obscene. I have delved my heart out with honesty… I have changed the names of the women who were in my life, but all the instances have been the same. In fact, all the women called me after reading the book to appreciate the way I dealt with it,” Piyush says.
The actor continues, “I was expecting backlash after the release of the book in Hindi, but it didn’t happen. The feedback was nice.”
Over the years, Piysuh has acted in films such as Gangs of Wasseypur, Maqbool, Tamasha and Indian 2, earning widespread critical acclaim. His lyrics and dialogues in films like Gulaal, Black Friday and Gangs of Wasseypur also established him as a successful lyricist. He was last seen in the 2025 film Crazxy. He is presently busy with his musical tours. After Tumhari Auqat Kya Hai, Piyush plans to write a novel titled Sirfira.
