Vishnu Vishal, who was last seen in the action-comedy Silukkuvarupatti Singam, penned an emotional letter on dealing with alcoholism and depression. Vishnu wrote about how when his professional life was going smoothly, in 2017, his personal life was falling apart. Being separated from both his former wife and son, Vishnu says, took its toll on his emotional well-being as he took to the bottle. Then came an injury, work pressure, bad release dates, his own production house suffered losses… Following eight films of his being dropped, weight gain… “I felt like I had hit rock bottom,” he says.
When the enormity of it all sunk, as his father retired, Vishnu decided to take control. This is refreshing from a mainstream Tamil actor. Writing a note to let everyone know that part of taking control is seeking help. “I reached out for help, started therapy and underwent treatment for depression.” He says he, “started working out under a professional trainer, started eating healthy, restricted alcohol, practiced yoga… I started focussing on myself and my work.”
With before and after pictures Vishnu showed how he managed to go from not being able to do to a single push up on day 1 to becoming 16 kilos lighter, infinitely stronger and shooting for his next film FIR, with four more films lined up. “Physical health improves mental health,” he said, echoing what a lot of research points to.
He called this the Vaaranam Aayiram way, referring to the Gautam Menon film in which the protagonist played by Surya fights similar circumstances off with physical fitness.
This is so Inspiring actually Vishnu. Thank you for letting us know. And that the Vaaranam Aayiram way works!
— Gauthamvasudevmenon (@menongautham) January 16, 2020
