Pooja Bhatt is 46 and a recovering alcoholic. At least that’s the way she describes herself. “My fight against alcohol will end with me. I stopped for a reason but there are too many temptations,” she said, talking about her alcoholism and the subsequent decision to quit alcohol.

Pooja was in Ranchi with her father, Mahesh Bhatt , for the theatrical re-creation of Daddy, one of Pooja’s earliest films. Incidentally, Daddy is the story of an alcoholic parent who abandoned his child at a young age.

Two decades later, Pooja relates to the struggles of the father’s character in the film herself. She has kicked the bottle 18 months ago, but she believes that as a woman, her attempt at quitting alcohol was more difficult.

“Women are shamed if they admit to the problem of alcoholism. The world of an alcoholic has always had a male perspective. But it is women who struggle more with the addiction,” Pooja said, talking at an event in the city recently.

“Alcoholism has somehow been attributed only to men. We live in a society where alcohol has become a norm and quitting it leaves you socially estranged. Now, I have fewer friends as I no longer pick up a drink to toast a happy occasion anymore. Quitting alcohol has been hard and for the rest of my life, I will be an alcoholic on my path to recovery,” she added.

Mahesh Bhatt also shared his struggles with alcohol. “The problem with the new social setup is the fact that drinking alcohol is normal. There is no guilt attached to it. I almost destroyed my life like the character in Daddy, and even after three decades of abstaining, I feel I can slip any day. Alcohol is not a social lubricant, but a ‘drug’ that has the potential to destroy several lives at once.”

The Bhatts have re-created their 1989 production Daddy as a stage play that has done the rounds across the country and abroad. Jharkhand had its first screening of the theatrical version last week.

“The problem of alcoholism is more persistent in Jharkhand. People in urban setups drink to celebrate, but for the working class, drinking is a way of life. It is used to shun responsibilities and push away worries. I believe that the story of Daddy has more relevance for the people in Jharkhand. The show will soon be taken to Bokaro, Dhanbad, Hazaribag and Jamshedpur," Mahesh Bhatt added.

Pooja said, “We need to stress on the prevalence of alcoholism in women. These women aren’t from the upper-middle classes who begin drinking as a social habit and secretly grow addicted to it. I want to work on a story of a female alcoholic soon. Her abandonment issues, her struggles and the fight to be accepted back into a society she left behind could be a new insight to the alcoholism narrative in Indian cinema.”

The duo also thanked the Jharkhand government for their film policy that has helped the film industry explore Jharkhand as a shooting destination. “Ranchi has a special place in my heart. I come here often for events and shoots. I brought along Pooja this time to show her around the city which has become so close to me,” Mahesh Bhatt added.

