Indian actors who have battled alcoholism

1. Pooja Bhatt recently opened up about her addiction to alcohol from the time she was just 16 years old. She admitted that being the daughter of an alcoholic made her more susceptible towards becoming one herself. However, Pooja has finally kicked the bottle since last December and remained sober ever since. Her intention behind speaking about this problem in public is to bust the stigma attached to alcoholism and to encourage people to seek help before it is too late.

While Pooja Bhatt managed to redeem herself, lets take a look at other Bollywood celebrities who have dealt with a drinking problem, some of whom in fact came out of it, while some of them unfortunately remained a slave to the drink.

2. Mahesh Bhatt has had a drinking problem throughout his career. He used cinema as a medium of expression and his own battle with alcohol came through evidently in films such as ‘Daddy’ and ‘Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee’

3. Sholay’s Thakur, Sanjeev Kumar’s life was a real life tragedy given his drinking problem and disppointment due to unrequited love.

4. Once  dashing young man, Dharmendra was a raging alcoholic who eventually gave it up to pursue writing and save his career and personal life.

5. Manisha Koirala was one of the most sought after actresses of early 2000s’ with a terrible weakness for alcohol and cigarettes. The pressure of a flailing career and a disatisfactory personal life led her to these vices, which she has given up to clean up her act and emerge healthy as on today.

6. Silk Smitha volatile and tragic life was captured perfectly in the movie ‘Dirty Picture’. With a life so stressful, it was only natural for her to turn to alcohol for solace, but the alcohol contributed to her absolute destruction.

7. Arjun Rampal is recognized as one of the most goodlooking Indian actors, but little do people know, that behind that very handsome face and intense eyes lies a raging alcoholic struggling to give up the bottle.

8. Meenakumari was better known as “The tragedy queen” of Indian cinema in the 60s’. A victim of great heartbreak and disppointment notwithstanding her successful career, Meenakumari became extremely dependant on alcohol and eventually died of liver cirrhosis.

9. Javed Akhtar lyrics come from a very deep place of sorrow, pain, happiness or some form of extreme emotion, which Javed Akhtar must have felt, could only be cured by downing a bottle a day. Although he has had a drinking problem in the past, Javed Akhtar has now cleaned up his system.

10. A young Rakhee didn’t just have ‘sharabi aankhen’; she was in fact a ‘sharabi’ (alcoholic). She mostly took the bottle to ease the pain of unsuccessful relationships.

11. Guru Dutt’s life could well be made into a Bollywood tragedy, on the lines of ‘Devdas’. This creative genius, who fell deeply in love with Waheeda Rehman, was so submerged in sorrow after a heart break that he eventually overdosed on sleeping pills and alcohol to commit suicide.