“I’m not a person who goes out of my way to change my look. I like my characters to look as natural as possible.”

I trust my directors to see me through, for I don’t consider myself as a natural actor – or a good one at that.

I have never been 100% confident that I am right about anything.

My thought process is in Malayalam. So, every time I have to work outside Malayalam, the process is a little stressful. I have to translate my Malayalam thoughts into English and back to Tamil.

I believe that anyone with a bit of guidance can act.

Most of the films that I do help me learn something.

I’ve always wanted to do a role based on a real-life person.

I will continue to do films that excite me.

I like to laugh and to make people laugh.

When I choose the scripts, all I look forward to is an impressive narration.

The only thing my famous last name got me was a foothold in the industry. That was the easy part. The biggest problem is survival. As Fazil’s son, I am expected to know everything – acting, dancing, horse riding… I am not trained in all these, and I don’t think I ever will be.

Every character, when it comes to a cinematic representation, gets complicated and layered. You are given a lot of dimensions than a single dimension to an individual. That’s the main difference between seeing something out of the window and seeing something on screen.

I have grown up seeing success and failure.

Failure is part and parcel of the process of experimenting with roles and films.

For me, ‘Diamond Necklace’ is a commercial attempt, as it has songs and glamour.

People expect star kids to be perfect – horse-riding, fighting.

The five directors in ‘5 Sundarikal’ experimented, and it was a very personal exercise. Amal, Anwar, Aashiq, and Sameer have done things that they have never done before. Debutant Shyju has also made a beautiful film.

I know many of you thought that I would be retiring today, but if I was ever going to announce my retirement it would not be in a downtown Los Angeles hotel with this fairly ugly carpet.

I’m insecure about everything, because I’m never going to look in the mirror and see this blond, blue-eyed girl. That is my idea of what I’d like to look like.

If you listen to the radio, it’s all men who are emotional and women who are sexual. There’s nothing wrong with that! It definitely should be the case, but it makes me sad that women are afraid to be emotional because it makes them look weak.

My life may seem glamorous from the outside but off screen it’s as ordinary as anyone else’s.

That man who is without religion and mercy should be rejected. A guru without spiritual knowledge should be rejected. The wife with an offensive face should be given up, and so should relatives who are without affection.

The good Lord added an extra dash of forehead when making me.

Style is something very individual, very personal, and in their own unique way, I believe everyone is stylish.

I think a woman looks best in a sari.