Deepak Dobriyal: “Will power was strong when I didn’t smoke”

Bollywood actor Deepak Dobriyal says he quit smoking cigarettes as he felt that his will power was strong when he was not into smoking.

The “Tanu Weds Manu Returns” actor said he picked the habit of smoking looking at his seniors, as he used to think it is something stylish.

“My will power used to be strong when I used to not smoke. I used to do things passionately. But looking at my seniors (I thought) smoking is stylish. When you’re smoking you feel like you’re occupied and are doing various things. To hide your embarrassment and awkwardness you take the help of a cigarette,” Dobriyal told reporters.

The actor was speaking at the launch of an anti-smoking short film “11 minutes” featuring him, here last evening. The film also stars Sunny Leone and Alok Nath.

Dobriyal said since he came forward to promote the initiative, he himself quit smoking too.

“When you’re sitting idle in front of someone, you light a cigarette not to look an idiot. No great work happens when you’re smoking; your body language comes across as if you’re doing some great thinking, and slowly that becomes your habit,” he said.

“If I am promoting the cause then it is important I apply it on myself. I’ve quit smoking.”

Leone, his co-star in the short film, said after a person stops smoking, he or she can take help of ayurvedic remedies to make sure he does not start it again.

“There are ayurvedic remedies, acupuncture and certain things that can stop you from smoking. You socialise yourself to do this (smoke), so you have to un-socialise yourself to think in a different way,” she said.

The “Jism 2” actress, however, said her co-stars who smoke on sets have always been respectful and ask before they light a cigarette.

“My co-stars who smoke cigarettes always are very respectful and say, ‘Do you mind if I smoke’? I always tell them, ‘If you smoke from a distance then it’s okay. I personally don’t like second-hand smoke, it is just as deadly as smoking a cigarette,” she added.

Inputs by PTI

Amod Pandit

Quiet, resonant, and creative, he can be seen immersed in his own world, and puts in his heart and soul into the one passion that he has, Bollywood. His line for survival? Feel happy to be a part of it.