Javed Akhtar on his alcohol addiction; says, ‘peekey koi ek dusra devil nikal aata tha’

MUMBAI : Veteran playwright Javed Akhtar has written extensively about his struggle with alcoholism, claiming it hampered his development during his prime. Despite having spent at least a "decade" struggling with alcoholism, Akhtar—who is still regarded as one of the nation's best screenwriters—spoke candidly about his addiction and claimed that if he could go back in time, he would advise his younger self to never touch a bottle.

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Javed Akhtar was questioned in an interview with Be A Man, Yaar, if he turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism for his repressed feelings. The author pointed out that since he would turn into a "devil" after drinking, it might have been the case.

Javed said, “May be there were bottled up emotions, the anger, the bitterness. That is why after drinking I would become quite offensive, which I a otherwise not, nor ever was. This would never happen in my sober moments. But peekey koi ek dusra devil nikal aata tha.”

He further said, “The few good things I have done in life included quitting alcohol. July 31, 1991 was the last time I drank. I never took a sip of champagne after that. Not even during a celebratory cheers.”

Javed further said, “Bohot time waste hua usmey. I think I wasted at least a decade of my life where I could do much more, but because of all this, I wasted it. I could have done so much, learn a musical instrument, could learn another language like French or Persian. I had the time and the facility, but I wasted my time, which is not good. I had to learn a lot more.”

Javed’s wife Shabana Azmi said, “He knew that if I go on like this, I won’t live for long and I won’t be able to do my work creatively” Shabana added, “We were in a flat in London. He was stinking of alcohol and I said ‘oh my god, this is going to be one of those trips. Very quietly he told me ‘Make me some breakfast’. He had breakfast and after that he told me, ‘I am not going to drink anymore.”

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Credit-IndianExpress