How a phone call from Sai Pallavi inspired alcoholic music composer Suresh Bobbili to go sober: ‘It was hell’

In a recent interview, music composer-singer Suresh Bobbili spoke candidly about how an interaction with Sai Pallavi changed his life.

Music composer Suresh Bobbili may be known for his work in films and web series like Virata Parvam, Needi Naadi Oke Katha, and 90s today, but what many don’t know is that there was a time when he struggled with alcoholism. In an interview with Gulte, he got candid about battling the disease and revealed how a phone call from Sai Pallavi pushed him to go sober.

Suresh Bobbili had composed music for Sai Pallavi's film Virata Parvam.

How a call from Sai Pallavi changed Suresh Bobbili’s life

Venu Udugula’s 2022 film Virata Parvam, starring Rana Daggubati and Sai, saw Suresh being ousted from the project before he was brought on board again. The composer reveals that this was done on Sai’s insistence. He said, “Sai Pallavi garu believed in me a lot. She insisted that my score is good and that they should use it.”

Once he completed the final score for the film, he said he got a call from her. “She said that when the film is released, I’ll be the first one to get a good name. She told me I was extraordinary and asked me to focus on work, leave everything else. She was a star already back then. It made me feel like she must see the worth in me. It reminded me of where I came from and why I came into this industry,” recollected Suresh.

The composer also stated that he realised in that moment that he was lucky and talented to get the opportunities he did, and that he was going down the wrong path. He quit alcohol after the film’s release and struggled for three months due to withdrawal symptoms, remarking that ‘it was hell’. Suresh mentioned that he has been sober for three years now.

Sai Pallavi’s recent work

Sai last starred in the Telugu film Thandel with Naga Chaitanya. The film grossed over ₹100 crore worldwide. In 2024, she starred alongside Sivakarthikeyan in the Tamil film Amaran. She will soon make her debut in Bollywood with Sunil Pandey’s film, which will feature Aamir Khan’s son, Junaid Khan, as her co-star. She will also play Sita in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana films, which will see Ranbir Kapoor as Ram and Yash as Ravana.