Ranbir Kapoor recently shared memories from his college days, highlighting how his father, Rishi Kapoor, imposed a strict budget on him while he was studying acting in New York. Despite coming from a privileged background, Rishi wanted Ranbir to experience the challenges of life.
Ranbir was studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York when his father set a tight budget for him. He had just enough to afford meals from McDonald’s dollar menu—about $2 for lunch and $2 for dinner. Ranbir described this budgeting as very strict, even though he came from a well-off family.
In a recent podcast with Nikhil Kamath, Ranbir explained that his father never explained the reason behind the budget but he believes it was to help him understand the value of money and live like a regular student, not a celebrity’s son. Rishi wanted him to experience some hardship to better appreciate life’s challenges.
Ranbir also reminisced about his college days in Mumbai, where he first started smoking. He recalled that HR College was where he bought his first pack of cigarettes and felt a sense of maturity as he began wearing his own clothes instead of a school uniform.