Pooja Bhatt
Actor-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt on Tuesday celebrated five years of abstinence from alcohol and credited her sobriety for keeping her "afloat" through emotional upheavals. Bhatt took to Instagram and penned a note, describing how sobriety has been life-changing for her. For the longest time, the 49-year-old actor said she had chased love in all corners but when the universe "introduced" her to sobriety, it became "the love of my life".
"And the need for validation from any other source ebbed. A demanding yet fulfilling lover, sobriety breaks down your defences, bares and reveals your soul, calls out any and all bulls***, yet clasps your hand tight and ensures you make it through many uncertain nights.
"Filling your dawn with such unimaginable light when you do the most revolutionary thing-say no to yourself," she wrote.
Bhatt, known for her starring turns in acclaimed films of the 1990s like "Daddy", "Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin", and "Zakhm", has been vocal about her struggles with alcohol.
She had previously said she quit drinking because she thought she had fallen into the "trap of addiction myself and the only way to get out of it was to acknowledge it to myself".
In her Instagram post, Bhatt said it has been almost five years of her being sober and called it a "deeply gratifying relationship".
"One that has helped me weather many vicious storms, kept me afloat through great loss and grounded through a supposed revival of fortune and fame. There is no room for a third in my life at this point. My priority for the first time ever, is myself.
"My emotional health comes first. Sobriety, recovery gets first priority. And because recovery, like love, is selfish no matter what people say, my choice is clear- it is single blessedness all the way."
The actor was last seen in the Alankrita Shrivastava-created Netflix series, "Bombay Begums".
Bhatt''s next is R Balki''s thriller feature. The currently untitled film also stars Sunny Deol, Dulquer Salmaan, and Shreya Dhanwanthary.
