“Music in movies is all about dissonance and consonance, tension and release.”

Every day, my daddy told me the same thing. ‘Once a task is just begun, never leave it till it’s done. Be the labour great or small, do it well or not at all.’

I was raised in Chicago and I guess that was one of the special breeding grounds for gangsters of all colors. That was the Detroit of the gangster world. The car industry was thugs.

Playing the game, and unfortunately, playing the gangster game is very profitable.

Making a record is like painting a school bus with a toothbrush.

If you started in New York you were dealing with the biggest guys in the world. You’re dealing with Charlie Parker and all the big bands and everything. We got more experience working in Seattle.

Every country can be defined through their food, their music and their language. That’s the soul of a country.

I’ve met every freak in the business.

Every day you must be able to say, I have to get up because I’m needed by someone. As long as you have that, you’re healthy.

We stole a box of honey jars one time and went out in the woods and took care of the whole box. I don’t think I touched honey again for 20 years. I never wanted to see honey again.

Prince a true artist in every sense of the world. Gone way too soon.

What happens when you get a big break and you haven’t prepared yourself? That becomes the biggest mistake you’ve ever made. I see it happen all the time.

It’s easy to get next to music theory, especially between your peers and music classes and so forth. You just pay attention. I had a good ear, so I realized that printed music was just about reminding you what to play.

A person’s age can be determined by the degree of pain he experiences when he comes in contact with a new idea.

I improvised my life along the way – I just moved step-by-step. And I knew that if I got better, something would happen.

Arts is just as important as military defense, you know? Emotional defense is just as important.

I look back and say, “This must have been somebody else.” I am not going to tell you that when I was 4, I dreamed about all of this.

In terms of finding that first international recognition of my work, coming back to Cannes is such a milestone in my life because it began actually with ‘Devdas’.

I would want my children to grow up and do what they wish to in a field that they choose to step in. They should not have to use the shadow of their father’s name. I think that is a bit of a downer for a movie star’s children.

I’ve grown up watching Shah Rukh Khan and never really imagined that one day I will get to play the lead opposite him.

At the end of the day, it is about what you are doing in the film.

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.

Any film is about heroism: the triumph of good over evil. If you look back at my films, you will see that as a recurring theme.

Films don’t decide my whole life. They are just a part of who I am. What I do in my personal life should be of no concern to the filmmakers or the fans.

If I want to kiss, I shall kiss. If I am told that a lovemaking scene is integral to the script, I will consider it.