Actor and musician Piyush Mishra has spoken candidly about some of the most difficult chapters of his life, including infidelity in his marriage and his long struggle with alcoholism. Reported by NDTV.
In a recent conversation with Hindustan Times, the actor reflected on guilt, confession, and the sense of peace that followed honesty.
Opening up about being unfaithful to his wife, Mishra spoke about the emotional turmoil he experienced before confessing. He said, "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."
He further shared that contrary to what many assumed, the confession brought him relief rather than pain. "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."
Mishra also revisited his prolonged battle with alcoholism, calling it the biggest regret of his life. Reflecting on the impact it had on his career and creativity, he said, "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."
He added, "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)."
Piyush Mishra has been married to architect Priya Narayanan since 1995. Despite his affairs, she chose to stand by him through the years.
The actor also spoke about his autobiography, Tumhari Auqaat Kya Hai, whose English translation was released in November. The book chronicles deeply personal experiences, including love affairs, alcoholism, and childhood sexual assault.
"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," he said.
He added that he had expected criticism but was surprised by the response. "I was expecting backlash after the release of the book in Hindi, but it didn't happen. The feedback was nice."
Piyush Mishra made his film debut with Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se… in 1998 and has since earned critical acclaim for performances in films such as Gangs of Wasseypur, Maqbool, Tamasha, and Indian 2. He is currently touring with his music and plans to write a novel titled Sirfira next.