The news that Ajay Devgn has given up smoking surprised me. That this wasn’t a New Year resolution by Bollywood’s dark and brooding action hero, and that Ajay was well past the 50th day of “No Smoking” surprised me further. Like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, and to an extent even Aamir Khan, Ajay has always been one of Bollywood’s big chain smokers. I have seldom seen him without a cigarette in his mouth. A packet of cigarettes and a lighter in his hands. I like that about him, Salman and Shah Rukh. They are actors comfortable in their own skins. No matter what character they might be playing on screen at that time. The cigarette is just an extension of their real life personality.
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I don’t know when exactly Ajay quit smoking, and why. But I believe he gave up his addiction while shooting for his upcoming film Raid in which he plays a UP Income Tax officer opposite the lovely Ileana D’Cruz. The actor who kicks some serious butt as the derring-do cop in the Bajirao Singham films, is said to have famously ‘kicked the butt’ while on the sets of Raid in Lucknow. And he did this on the spur of the moment. Since then, Ajay reportedly hasn’t smoked a puff! It’s amazing. He’s not talking about it, however, maybe because he fears his resolve will break down if he does. His record for laying off cigarettes has before this been 45 days.
I remember talking to Ajay about his smoking some time ago. Also, his drinking. And the subject came up because just before that, I had discussed fitness with him. Ajay is one of Bollywood’s fittest actors. He had told me that when he was in between films, he didn’t work out or diet. “But even when I am in that zone, it takes a month-and-half for me to bounce back,” Ajay said. He doesn’t work towards six-pack abs. But prefers a toned look. “I think a tough body should look like a tough body. I’m more into strength training. No body sculpting for me. But usually I work on all body parts. And my workout depends on the situation I’m in. I ask myself, ‘What’s the urgency to reach the target?’ I’m always decently fit. I may not always be toned but I can get there in 15 days.”
Hearing that, I reminded Ajay that smoking and drinking didn’t go with fitness. “I know, but I’ve been doing it for years,” the actor laughed. “Vodka is my drink. I have it every night with water or ice. I have three or four pegs a night. And once in a while, I drink whole bottles of Vodka… ask anybody in the industry, they’ll tell you. Smoking, I know, is a bad habit. But it doesn’t affect my training. I smoke cigarettes. Yes, a lot. Maybe if I stop, I’ll come to know the difference. Perhaps my fitness will improve. But I seriously doubt that. I did the stress test once and my lungs strength was measured in that. I was asked to wear a face mask and blow into the mouthpiece. I did! With great force. They doctors were astonished and asked me, ‘Do you really smoke?’” Maybe Ajay Devgn will give up Vodka next!
