We have seen a few videos of Rahul Roy in the recent past after he suffered a brain stroke in December 2020 and even read a few of his quotes, but there hasn’t been a full-length interview yet. ETimes gets you the first one, and boy, touchwood, Roy has recovered quite a lot! He is not just coherent but quite lucid as well. He is looking good too. His sister Priyanka sits by his side for moral support as we begin our conversation with the ‘Aashiqui’ actor.

Begins Rahul, “I am fine, feeling much better now. I think I’ll be fully alright in the next 2-3 months. Priyanka has been with me on this journey steadfastly.” And what is he eating? Pat comes the reply, “Everything. The doctor has told me to eat everything.” The caring sister chips in to say, “No, he has to be almost totally off non-vegetarian food. He’s allowed some salmon fish though, but no chicken for sure. And of course, he has to eat a lot of greens and fiber. It was not a small stroke, it was a moderate one. It settled down, but there’s always a risk that it can recur. So we do not take risks; we don’t listen to him when he asks for chicken and bacon or whatever he likes but is not permitted. He even loves eating sweets, he can eat a kilo of sweets in one go, but now he’s off that as well.”

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Rahul has also gone off cigarettes. “I have realised how bad it is for health, so no smoking anymore.” Priyanka returns to say, “He used to finish one full packet of cigarettes every day otherwise, maybe even two.” Rahul grins sheepishly. Continues, Priyanka, “He is trying to give up his old habits. He’s learning to give up. We are constantly monitoring him. I sleep for barely two hours every day.”

Coming to the ongoing ‘Bigg Boss 14’, which will air its finale episode tonight, Rahul says that he supported Rubina Dilaik earlier but not anymore. “She was No 4 on my list, but not after Aly Goni entered the scene. I think Aly enjoys a very good support till date. I want either Aly Goni or Rahul Vaidya to win.”

Priyanka has a hearty laugh at our next question to Rahul: Would you have gone to ‘Bigg Boss 14 if they had given you a call as they did to other former contestants, health withstanding? Rahul shoots back, “No, not at all. I have done it and seen it all. Why again? No novelty!”

Rahul says that he has learned during his convalescence period that the only people who have stood by him constantly have been Priyanka, his brother Rohit and his brother-in-law Romeer. “I keep looking forward to speaking to only them. I always knew that these were my only four who would always stand by me and I have been proved correct. I shall keep in touch with others hereafter but not so much,” he asserts.

Will he deep-dive into movies once he’s fully fit? ‘”Yes, I want to be back in movies. There’s one film that I have done, wherein I will be able to change my romantic image and appear in a new avatar. I had finished shooting for it before December (Rahul even underwent a six-month workshop for this one). It’s something that I was waiting for nearly 10-11 years. I am not supposed to divulge more about it yet. And, then there’s another film which is Tanvir Ahmed’s ‘Night and Fog’ and it’s very high on content; I want to do content-driven films. I am also open to OTT. But I won’t sign up just about everything that comes my way. The storytelling has changed and I want to go through the process of making crucial decisions in this regard. I am done with the type of stuff that I did, I want to keep up with the times,” says Rahul.

It wouldn’t have been right to keep him longer, while there no doubt were a lot of questions that we could have asked.