HT Brunch Cover Story: Sobering thoughts

An unusually honest chat between actors Pooja Bhatt and Imaad Shah on how she beat alcohol addiction, and how he steers away too

Pooja Bhatt and Imaad Shah are laughing. “You know what’s funny?” she giggles. “I got a call to endorse an alcohol brand today. I said I can’t! It would be terrible for their business! Life’s timing is hilarious!”

Pooja and Imaad both agree that today one has to make more excuses for not drinking than for drinking. And then too, people take it personally; Styling: Priyanka Bhatt; Hair and make-up: Nida Farooqui and Hrida Advani; On Pooja: Dress and blouse, Urvashi Kaur; earrings, Misho; necklace, Amrapali; rings, Studio Mettalurgy; footwear, Paio; On Imaad: Layover shirt and pants, Khanijo; watch, Casio; shoes, Puma (Subi Samuel)

Pooja says that men are allowed to admit addiction, while women are still not; Shirt, Urvashi Kaur (Subi Samuel)

Imaad says in the future, alcohol addiction might start feeling like a quaint thing of the past as there’ll be other kinds of addictions [like social media]; Jacket, Mr Berry; t-shirt, Zara (Subi Samuel)

Pooja says that if you want to know who your friends are, you should sober up. Imaad says he realised alcohol and fitness are not compatible, and also that waking up without a hangover is the best feeling in the world; On Pooja: Dress, Raani; earrings and rings, Minerali; footwear, Paio; On Imaad: Shirt,CountryMade India; pants, Zara; shoes, Puma (Subi Samuel)

Fun quick questions with Pooja and Imaad

Imaad and Pooja on belonging to film families

Pooja Bhatt opened up about her fight against alcohol addiction in an HT Brunch cover story in July 2017