Ram Kapoor says he quit smoking on daughter Sia’s insistence, now smokes only with Saif Ali Khan: ‘Both of us have quit but…’

Ram recalled the conversation he had with his daughter in an interview with Siddharth Kannan. He relived the moment when he returned home from a shoot in Australia a few years ago. He shared, “She said, ‘dada I want to talk to you,’ and I said, ‘yes darling?’ She didn’t say, ‘please quit smoking,’ please understand. She said, ‘I saw an ad which said smoking kills. Are you going to die?’ She only wanted me to assure her that I was not going to die.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ram Kapoor (@iamramkapoor)

Ram was deeply moved by his daughter’s concern and realised that he had to quit smoking for her sake. “All she wanted to know is if I’ll die because, if yes then stop, if not then please continue. So I realised that I have to, so I stopped.”

Ram admitted that he has smoked twice since then, but only socially with his friend and Humshakal co-actor Saif Ali Khan. However, he emphasised that both, he and Saif, have quit smoking. He shared, “After that I have smoked twice with Saif (Ali Khan). When he is drinking he likes to smoke. He has given up smoking. But when he is drinking he likes to smoke. Twice, at his villa in Mauritius and once I don’t remember where but we smoked and the next day nothing. And I smoke in films of course. Smoked nonstop for work but I am not a smoker for ten years now.”

Ram also spoke about his approach to substance use and how he encourages his kids to have experiences in life, but with him. “They have seen me give up everything in life the minute I want to — smoking, substances, alcohol. Maine harr cheez ki hai life mein (I have done everything in life). And I’ll make my kids do everything as well. Have every experience in life but don’t let it control you. You control it. If you don’t have experience in your life then you are not living.”

Ram’s advice to his kids is to “do everything” but with him. “I have told them ‘jo bhi karna hai mere saath karo‘ (do anything you want to do, but do it with me).” This approach, he believes, will help them make informed choices and avoid getting controlled by their experiences.