“If two actors have an equal creative give and take between them, it translates beautifully on the screen.”

Comedy is the most difficult. Comic timing is something which you either have it in you, or you don’t. You have to have a good sense of humour to be able to understand it. A split second can make you lose the punch.

I have always admired my mother’s style. For as long as I can remember, her style has been classic, elegant and something I have related to.

To me, the mind and body are one. I’m very transparent, in a way, and people can very easily make out what mood I’m in.

My choices are like my fingerprints, they make me unique.

It’s good to be on the edge, but I have never followed my mind. I have always followed my heart. And it has yielded the right results.

I am a big foodie, so much so that I eat in every half an hour. This is the secret of my glowing skin.

My parents never raised their hand or fired me. Their way of disciplining me was to tell me what is right or wrong.

There is a strong side to me, that is of a homemaker. I look forward to spending time at home in the evenings, cooking a meal, chatting with my parents and inviting friends over.

I wish to be appreciated not only as a film star but also for the person I am. If I manage to bring a smile on people’s faces, then I think I’ll be successful.

I am very scared to invest emotionally in a relationship.

For doing comedy, a sense of humor is a must!

Having had a lived experience with mental illness, I understand the importance of emotional wellbeing.

I don’t like differentiating between art and commercial cinema.

I have always been focused on my job. No profession allows you the luxury of being half-focused. If you’re not into it, you’re not there. And the film industry is all the more harsh in these cases, perhaps because it’s a business of the limelight.

I still live as normal a life as anybody else. I have two homes to run. I have my staff to take care of. I work, pay bills and attend society meetings like everybody else.

I have always believed that chemistry can’t be created between two people. You either have it or you don’t. The script can only enhance it.

If there is something magic about the collaborations I have with actors it’s because I put the character first.

Only a madman or an actor would want to be President of the United States.

I didn’t want to be an actress; I never thought of being an actress because, as children, there were three of us – I was the middle child – and we spent our time in church from Sunday morning to Saturday night.

My parents said, Oh, he’s going to be a director someday. I wanted to be an actor.

My experience of singing, as an actor, was that there’s a different creative feeling of freedom. The acting thing is a bit more defined and cerebral. I can see why people would want to cross over. If you have so much freedom on stage then perhaps you want to be confined a bit, and vice versa.

In my early years, there were a number of experiences that made me decide I could not afford the luxury of just being an actress. There were a number of issues I wanted to address. And I wanted to use my career as a platform.

When I told my mother that I wanted to be an actress, she said, you can’t live here and do that, and so I moved out. I was determined to prove her wrong because she was so sure that I was going to go astray. And that’s the juice that kept me going.

As an actress, you want to try new things. You don’t want to repeat yourself. That becomes more important to you, as you get older.