“I would like to do movies of all genres.”

Offscreen, I’m a private person. I’m shy and don’t know how to face the public.

All I want to do is to make movies that are appealing to people.

I have always maintained that the audience should take a call on this. Its up to them to decide whether they want to see a pirated version or not. They should understand the effort and amount of hard work that go into a film.

In Malayalam, I can improvise, and acting is easy because I think in Malayalam, but for ‘Velaikkaran,’ I had to prepare for a role, which is a first for me.

I think it would be a dream for any actor to play someone like Changampuzha.

I like movies made by Spike Lee – doing those films out of the U.S., that is really daring.

I want to entertain viewers as much as possible.

I thoroughly enjoyed shooting for ‘Velaikkaran,’ and I made a great friend in Sivakarthikeyan during the process. Also, it was wonderful working with director Mohan Raja. I have not seen a director who takes so much effort to get things the best way possible.

I do only what I like. If we do something we don’t like, we will become someone else.

People often ask whether marriage has changed me. I didn’t marry because I had to change.

I don’t know how to be professional. But I always enjoy what I do.

I give my best to each role that I do.

All I believe in is, you need to be yourself.

When I listen to a basic thought, I try to visualise the cinema in it. Sometimes it is dark, sometimes boyish, sometimes amateurish. It is a trial and error method. But the bottom line is that I want to entertain the audience.

I want the audience to watch my films, and that is what I value more than any awards.

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.

You can’t give someone five hundred punches in a film anymore. You beat on them, and they continue to stand there staring at you. That doesn’t work. People just don’t buy that anymore.

If I’m gonna play a character in a movie or if I want to be the lead of a film, you wanna carry the guy, you wanna get the girl, you wanna save the day or the world.

I just do what Clint Eastwood does: Keep moving forward. You can’t look back or think about that kind of stuff too much. You just keep making movies; hopefully you make some good ones.

Be the leads of big films that are entertaining and maybe then cross over to stuff that moves people and has a little bit more texture to it.

The films that I do are deep, introspective, brooding roles that you’re in this heavy headspace all the time.

I’m just looking to be in the best movies possible and do the best work possible and try to become a better actor and make better movies.

I’ve directed independent film.

For movies like The Longest Ride, I got to hang out with cowboys at rodeos and learned how to ride a bull, essentially.