“If you spend time with your loved ones, you get the energy to do your job better.”

It’s cruel to compare two actors working with two different filmmakers on two different characters.

Everybody is in a hurry to decode you in a certain way, and then they expect you to adhere to their definition. How can they possibly do that when you yourself are finding it hard to discover yourself?

When I am in front of the camera or on stage, I am not me.

The best thing is to accept the circumstances, not take them personally, deal with them, stop complaining, and give everything your best.

I despise women wearing too much makeup. It hides their actual beauty.

Bringing out your vulnerable side and shedding your privacy in front of complete strangers is so very difficult, but when you are into the performance, the relief and release is so extraordinary that you get addicted.

For me, the opposite of happiness isn’t sadness but boredom.

I’ve been a fan of Dhoni for years. I’ve seen him play for India for over 10 years.

I’m a trained engineer, so I’m conditioned to come up with a right answer to a difficult question, but when it comes to art, there is no definite answer because it’s so subjective.

I wanted to be a cricketer. But I was not skilled enough to be a national-level cricketer.

I will continue doing things irrespective of the medium as long as I’m excited about it.

Everything happening around me is very random. I am enjoying the phase, as the journey is far more enjoyable than the destination.

I take time to open up with people. But once I know you, I’m fine. I’m a shy person.

I’ve stopped taking myself seriously because now I understand how fickle my thoughts are.

I think, for every actor, the most challenging part of playing a character, specially a real-life character, is to convince yourself that you are the character.

My dad told me when I was very young, that I should not get married before 30. His only advice to me was to live my life.

Forgiving doesn’t make the person who hurt you feel better, it makes you feel better.

Now at 47, 48 I am expected to do ten times better work that I did when I was 24.

As long as there is pink in the world, it will always be a better place.

The next generation has always been and will be better than the previous one. If it is not, then the world would not be moving forward.

When will you start asking different questions? Better questions?

Every time you make a mistake, don’t bring up everything that’s wrong with yourself; tell yourself that you’re paying the price for growth and that you will learn to do better next time. Every positive thing you can say to yourself will help.

The more you do, the more you fail. The more you fail, the more you learn. The more you learn, the better you get.

Gratitude to all the coaches, teachers and mentors of the game who helped me understand this game better.