“The characters I portray are an extension of what I’ve seen, heard, or read, and so what you see in my films are how I understand life.”

When I am with my friends, I am comfortable.

The closest encounter I had with films in my childhood was sitting on the lap of my father at a shooting set, and he would say ‘rain,’ and it started raining, and then he would say ‘song,’ and people started dancing. I thought I was sitting on God’s lap.

I don’t expect to win awards while working in films.

I know it’s a big gamble, but I want to do good films.

My films may not have a great opening, but I am not bothered about it. Whatever the numbers be, I want those viewers who come for my films to be excited about watching the movie.

I am an actor, and I would like to reinvent myself through every character that I portray.

My father hasn’t backed me in any way, and I don’t think anybody has backed me.

There are two kinds of films: the ones that are devoid of logic but can still hijack the audience, and those that can win them over with logic. Both kinds can succeed, and I like to work in both.

I think everything is temporary.

Failure affects me hard.

It is easier to produce a film on your own than convincing another person to come on board.

If I had my way, I want to do 15 films in a year, but I have realised I cannot physically do that.

I have been fortunate to collaborate with people who have been open to discussion. If I tell them something, they have always explained to me why they want it the other way.

Let me make something clear: I can’t do anything in particular to make others laugh. I do what is necessary for a character. The body language of the character may make others laugh.

The less people know about you, the more you understand how beautiful life is. It’s good when you exist only on screen. I don’t want them to take me home. I love to have my privacy.

What I look for in a project is whether the storyline excites me.

The only strong opinion that I have about myself is that I don’t have any opinions.

Make small commitments and keep them. Be a light, not a judge. Be a model, not a critic. Be a part of the solution, not the problem.

I’m not funny. What I am is brave.

Character is like my fingerprint; it identifies me from everyone else in the world. It says who I am and where I am headed.

You spend your life training to be an actor, observing people’s characteristics so that you can design characters around what you’ve seen.

My features are completely ethnic.

Listen to a man’s words and look at the pupil of his eye. How can a man conceal his character?

As an actor, you think you know your craft, you know the conflicts in your character, but often you don’t.