<p>He is widely regarded for his path-breaking performances in both theater and films, but actor Piyush Mishra says he chose acting as profession to overcome the inferiority complex.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Mishra, who is also a music director, lyricist, singer, scriptwriter, said there was a time when nobody paid attention to him and it was only when he did the role of a prince in a play, that he realised the power of the craft.<br /><br />"I think I become what I am not through acting. I did a princely role in 1979. I was from a lower middle class family. I was filled with inferiority complex, was very introvert.<br /><br />"Everybody refused to look at me, girls used to never give me attention. But when I performed, I thought I am ruling the world. In those two-and-half hours, I was saying laugh, people were laughing, I was saying cry, people were crying. I was amazed and said to myself this is a wonderful art," Mishra told reporters here last evening.<br /><br />The 53-year-old artiste graduated from National School of Drama, Delhi in 1986 and then established himself as a theatre director, actor, lyricist and singer over next decade.<br /><br />It was in 2002, when he shifted to Mumbai and went on to receive acclaim for his acting in films like "Maqbool", "Gulaal", "Gangs of Wasseypur" and the recent hit "Pink".<br /><br />Mishra said he spent initial years in search of what he truly wants to do in life, until the acting bug bit him.<br /><br />"Before that (doing the play) I was a painter, I also played sitar in a troupe for four years but I longed for inner satisfaction, so in 1979 I just did the play and I thought I am the boss. The art of acting came to me out of my complex," he said.<br /><br />It wasn't, however, a smooth sailing for Mishra as he found himself in a phase where he turned to alcohol, something which he overcame with acting.<br /><br />"There is a purpose why we were born. How can it happen that we are coming from nothingness and going towards nothingness. So in that search, I got trapped in a very dangerous phase where I was into alcohol. I became an alcoholic. Even now I shudder.<br /><br />"I have no apprehensions in telling that. But after coming out of that, I wanted to find out more about myself- khoje toh sahi kaha se aaye hai, kaha jaayege. There acting helped me a lot...I want to understand acting even till the micro-level," Mishra said.<br /><br />He was speaking at the National Institute of Industrial Engineering's special event 'Avartan'. He was part of the celebrity talk show - Cita De La Prerana - which also included Shyam Benegal and Makrand Deshpande. </p>
<p>He is widely regarded for his path-breaking performances in both theater and films, but actor Piyush Mishra says he chose acting as profession to overcome the inferiority complex.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Mishra, who is also a music director, lyricist, singer, scriptwriter, said there was a time when nobody paid attention to him and it was only when he did the role of a prince in a play, that he realised the power of the craft.<br /><br />"I think I become what I am not through acting. I did a princely role in 1979. I was from a lower middle class family. I was filled with inferiority complex, was very introvert.<br /><br />"Everybody refused to look at me, girls used to never give me attention. But when I performed, I thought I am ruling the world. In those two-and-half hours, I was saying laugh, people were laughing, I was saying cry, people were crying. I was amazed and said to myself this is a wonderful art," Mishra told reporters here last evening.<br /><br />The 53-year-old artiste graduated from National School of Drama, Delhi in 1986 and then established himself as a theatre director, actor, lyricist and singer over next decade.<br /><br />It was in 2002, when he shifted to Mumbai and went on to receive acclaim for his acting in films like "Maqbool", "Gulaal", "Gangs of Wasseypur" and the recent hit "Pink".<br /><br />Mishra said he spent initial years in search of what he truly wants to do in life, until the acting bug bit him.<br /><br />"Before that (doing the play) I was a painter, I also played sitar in a troupe for four years but I longed for inner satisfaction, so in 1979 I just did the play and I thought I am the boss. The art of acting came to me out of my complex," he said.<br /><br />It wasn't, however, a smooth sailing for Mishra as he found himself in a phase where he turned to alcohol, something which he overcame with acting.<br /><br />"There is a purpose why we were born. How can it happen that we are coming from nothingness and going towards nothingness. So in that search, I got trapped in a very dangerous phase where I was into alcohol. I became an alcoholic. Even now I shudder.<br /><br />"I have no apprehensions in telling that. But after coming out of that, I wanted to find out more about myself- khoje toh sahi kaha se aaye hai, kaha jaayege. There acting helped me a lot...I want to understand acting even till the micro-level," Mishra said.<br /><br />He was speaking at the National Institute of Industrial Engineering's special event 'Avartan'. He was part of the celebrity talk show - Cita De La Prerana - which also included Shyam Benegal and Makrand Deshpande. </p>