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Ram Kapoor tells us that he kicked his 20-year-old smoking habit overnight, because his daughter asked him to. He says that nobody, not even his wife and son, have the kind control that his eight-year-old daughter has over him. Kapoor, who was recently in Delhi for his upcoming show Dil Ki Baatein Dil Hi Jaane, also says that he thinks his not-so-perfect looks connect him to his audience.
It was because of my daughter that I quit smoking
After 20 years of smoking, I quit smoking overnight without cutting down. From 40 cigarettes to zero, only because my daughter said to me, 'Dada (that's what his daughter calls him), you want to die. You want to leave me'. Baat hi wahaan khatam ho gayi. It was last year on New Year's that I quit smoking. So it has been one year, three months since I stopped smoking. It was 2013 when I last smoked. My daughter is only eight-and-a-half years old. My wife, and even my son, will never be able to control me. But my daughter has me wrapped around her little finger. I have seen that she doesn't like me crying onscreen. She didn't like the show's promo (where Ram is crying in front of God's statue and pleading for his wife's life) too much. She turned away from that one. I don't stop her from watching anything. She understands that it is not for real. But what I notice is whenever I cry, she turns away. She doesn't say anything but she just doesn't like watching it. However, she liked the other promos of the show.
READ: Dil Ki Baatein Dil Hi Jaane: Reasons to watch the show
I think people like me because I don't give a damn about my looks
There are some questions an actor finds very difficult to answer. What is the reason why the audience is accepting him/her is a very difficult question to answer. What I venture, and I am not saying that I am right, is that people are getting to see a person who doesn't really give a damn about these things (looks and his body). It's all about the performance and it's all about the material. They are used to everything being perfect. But here comes a person who says, 'Haan, main mota hoon, main aisa hi hoon, par aap mera kaam dekho'. Maybe they are connecting to that. These are questions I don't want to dwell on and I just want to continue doing good work.
I want to give people the message of hope, says Ram
READ: Ram Kapoor to Ronit Roy: Prime time TV's new age single parents
It is sheer luck that this show came my way
I always look for subjects that challenge me. Nothing could be sweeter than the day this project came my way. It came at a time when I was not open to television and I had too much film work. And I like to do one thing at a time. When I did Kasamh Se, for four years, I did only Kasamh Se. When I was doing Ghar Ek Mandir for three years, I only did that. Now I have to do films and I am even doing a TV show, which is not actually my modus operandi. There are a few things in life that you just can't say no to because you see the merit in them and you say, 'This is sheer luck that this came my way'. This is that. I don't see this as a tragic story at all. I see this as a very uplifting story. I see this as a story of a man who likes to do the unthinkable and because of that hits rock bottom and what happens after that. The rest of the story, from the rock bottom, is all up-up, which is very inspirational, uplifting and it is the message I want to give people. We all hit rock bottom sometimes in our lives. How you pull your socks up, how the family comes in to play and how things get back on track is what the show talks about. The show must go on. That is the message. I don't see it as tragic at all. Yes, the beginning might seem so, but there is a long way to go after that.
TV is just going to grow from here on
TV has to come of age. During the 1980s, just look at the shows that were big - Malgudi Days, Tamas, Nukkad, Buniyaad. These are legendary, very deep shows. Somewhere, maybe over a period of time, we got a little regressive, a little repetitive. Theek hai, hota hai, every industry goes through ups and downs, but it's about time that one goes on because in TV, the growth we have seen is just the tip of the iceberg. I have forecasted that we will continue till the day we are identical to the west, with America, in the sense that there will be no difference between a TV actor and a film actor. That is where TV is going to go. I am lucky so far (to have bridged the gap). I don't like to talk about it. I don't like to dwell on that. If you dwell on success, it can't help you in any way. If you dwell on your success even in your own house, with your own family, how is it helping you or anybody? Why dwell on anything? It is harming you. I am managing it and it's fantastic.
It was because of my daughter that I quit smoking
After 20 years of smoking, I quit smoking overnight without cutting down. From 40 cigarettes to zero, only because my daughter said to me, 'Dada (that's what his daughter calls him), you want to die. You want to leave me'. Baat hi wahaan khatam ho gayi. It was last year on New Year's that I quit smoking. So it has been one year, three months since I stopped smoking. It was 2013 when I last smoked. My daughter is only eight-and-a-half years old. My wife, and even my son, will never be able to control me. But my daughter has me wrapped around her little finger. I have seen that she doesn't like me crying onscreen. She didn't like the show's promo (where Ram is crying in front of God's statue and pleading for his wife's life) too much. She turned away from that one. I don't stop her from watching anything. She understands that it is not for real. But what I notice is whenever I cry, she turns away. She doesn't say anything but she just doesn't like watching it. However, she liked the other promos of the show.
READ: Dil Ki Baatein Dil Hi Jaane: Reasons to watch the show
I think people like me because I don't give a damn about my looks
There are some questions an actor finds very difficult to answer. What is the reason why the audience is accepting him/her is a very difficult question to answer. What I venture, and I am not saying that I am right, is that people are getting to see a person who doesn't really give a damn about these things (looks and his body). It's all about the performance and it's all about the material. They are used to everything being perfect. But here comes a person who says, 'Haan, main mota hoon, main aisa hi hoon, par aap mera kaam dekho'. Maybe they are connecting to that. These are questions I don't want to dwell on and I just want to continue doing good work.
I want to give people the message of hope, says Ram
READ: Ram Kapoor to Ronit Roy: Prime time TV's new age single parents
It is sheer luck that this show came my way
I always look for subjects that challenge me. Nothing could be sweeter than the day this project came my way. It came at a time when I was not open to television and I had too much film work. And I like to do one thing at a time. When I did Kasamh Se, for four years, I did only Kasamh Se. When I was doing Ghar Ek Mandir for three years, I only did that. Now I have to do films and I am even doing a TV show, which is not actually my modus operandi. There are a few things in life that you just can't say no to because you see the merit in them and you say, 'This is sheer luck that this came my way'. This is that. I don't see this as a tragic story at all. I see this as a very uplifting story. I see this as a story of a man who likes to do the unthinkable and because of that hits rock bottom and what happens after that. The rest of the story, from the rock bottom, is all up-up, which is very inspirational, uplifting and it is the message I want to give people. We all hit rock bottom sometimes in our lives. How you pull your socks up, how the family comes in to play and how things get back on track is what the show talks about. The show must go on. That is the message. I don't see it as tragic at all. Yes, the beginning might seem so, but there is a long way to go after that.
TV is just going to grow from here on
TV has to come of age. During the 1980s, just look at the shows that were big - Malgudi Days, Tamas, Nukkad, Buniyaad. These are legendary, very deep shows. Somewhere, maybe over a period of time, we got a little regressive, a little repetitive. Theek hai, hota hai, every industry goes through ups and downs, but it's about time that one goes on because in TV, the growth we have seen is just the tip of the iceberg. I have forecasted that we will continue till the day we are identical to the west, with America, in the sense that there will be no difference between a TV actor and a film actor. That is where TV is going to go. I am lucky so far (to have bridged the gap). I don't like to talk about it. I don't like to dwell on that. If you dwell on success, it can't help you in any way. If you dwell on your success even in your own house, with your own family, how is it helping you or anybody? Why dwell on anything? It is harming you. I am managing it and it's fantastic.
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