Bigg Boss OTT 2: Pooja Bhatt reveals father Mahesh Bhatt’s one message made her quit drinking, opens up about her failed marriage

Pooja Bhatt‘s inclusion in Bigg Boss OTT 2 has led to some big revelations about her past. The actor-filmmaker recently opened up about recovering from alcohol addiction at the age of 44. In a chat with co-contestant Cyrus Broacha, she also mentioned how it’s tougher for women as they are not even supposed to be drinking openly. And now, in the latest episode, Pooja spoke about how her father Mahesh Bhatt’s one message led her to give up drinking.

While conversing with Bebika Dhurve, Pooja shared that she was casually chatting with her father over texts one day, when she told him how much she loves him. He shot back saying that if you genuinely love me, you should love yourself first as he lives inside her. “That was like a wake-up call to me and after that, I did not touch alcohol ever. That did it for me. Love can move mountains. It healed my life. The next day I quit alcohol and it’s been six years now I’ve not touched it,” she said.

The actor-filmmaker also opened up about how her biggest fear is to lose her father and live in a world where he is not present. She shared that Bigg Boss OTT 2 is the longest that she will stay away from him. Pooja revealed that on his last birthday, Mahesh Bhatt had asked her what if she never sees him again. Pooja said that she told him that he won’t “leave an emotional cripple” behind. “Wherever you would watch me, I will radiate. Otherwise what’s the point of being your daughter if I go back to the same old habits, and apne aap ko bottle mein kho dun?”

Pooja Bhatt also opened up about how her father has been alcohol-free for 30 years. Talking about his addiction, she said, “People in the industry would say Mahesh Bhatt se kabhi sharab nahi chootegi. He would drink in front of everyone in public and would sometime trip over also.” She added that when a person is successful, they get the license to do everything “because you are earning”. “But when your downfall starts, even your close ones will make you realise that you need money for alcohol and you don’t have it and you are not even successful. He just quit one day randomly,” Pooja admitted.

Further in the conversation, Pooja spoke about her marriage with Manish Makhija, a VJ, and restauranteur. She shared that after being married for almost 11 years, they decided that ‘something was not right, and not working out’. She added that they decided to not live a lie and thus parted ways. When Bebika asked her why she didn’t have kids, Pooja replied that she “wasn’t ready” to have kids back then. “I want kids and I love kids but at that point, I didn’t want kids. I couldn’t lie at the risk of never meeting somebody, I couldn’t lie. It’s fine but I cannot lie.”

She added that once people start speaking lies, it starts getting dirtier and the blame game starts and she didn’t want that in life. Pooja added that whatever was between them was good till it lasted and they parted on a good note, with dignity.