New Delhi, Oct 20 It all started with an Instagram post where he announced how he quit drinking a year back. Not that actor Sidhartha Mallya was an alcoholic, just that he experienced morning after anxiety.
"Getting thousands of responses on an honest post was overwhelming and made me think how many more lives could I touch, and maybe help if I shared more experiences," he tells .
Mallya's memoir, 'If I am Honest', published by Westland Publications which recently hit the stands takes the reader back to 2016, when he went through depression. Something that came as a bit of a surprise to him, given that he seemingly had the world at his feet: He was young, had just graduated from a prestigious drama school and had upcoming film projects.
However, despite all the awaiting opportunities, he was unhappy. That was when he realised that something was not right and sought professional help. Thus began the journey to understanding his current mental state as well as an exploration of the other mental issues he has suffered throughout his life and where they might have stemmed from.
In this memoir, he opens up about - struggling with depression, living with OCD, the effects of his parents' divorce, why he quit drinking-and also what helped him face and overcome his challenges.
"There are a few messages that I want to get across. One is that everyone can suffer from issues of mental health. And also, I think, by being honest, as the title suggests, I want to convey that it is okay to talk about these things. To embrace your own truth. It makes no sense to be ashamed talking about it," he says.
Ask him if there was the much hyped 'catharsis' post finishing the book, and he asserts, "Frankly, the whole process was quite difficult. You have to do a lot of self-work to be able to talk about these things. Writing it and reliving those things do take a toll on you. However, I kept telling myself If I can just help one other person, then it is all good.
Mallya, who studied business and joined the corporate world before giving it up to enroll in the prestigious Royal Central School of Speech and Drama says that he always wanted to do something performative in India.
"From a very young age, my imagination loved running in every direction, and always wanted to do my thing. I am very pleased that I made this transition. Because if I didn't, I don't know if this book would have existed today. I think the switch helped me grow as a person. It helped me get in touch with myself," he says.
Pleased that he made his debut with the rebel filmmaker Q in 'Brahman Naman'
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