Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I'm not a political person; I'm not an activist. I'm not a guy with strong beliefs about anything. I have nothing to say to the world.
I feel anxious for my children because tomorrow, if a mob surrounds them and asks, 'Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?' they will have no answer.
I'm not trying to prove myself a great filmmaker. I don't know much about filmmaking anyway. I'm trying my hand at it to see if I'm any good.
An actor's job is to find variations of the same emotion in his being so that every time he expresses grief or joy, it doesn't look the same.
When I was 14 and went on the stage for the first time, it stimulated me so much that I was convinced that I didn't want to do anything else.
A person takes his own path. My father tried to guide me the best way he thought I should go, and it didn't work. I went the way I wanted to.
Sometimes, more money is spent on promotion of a film than the making of it. I don't understand that logic. The movie should run on its merit.
I've always found people with physical disabilities interesting to watch: how the dynamics of their body work, what makes them move this way or that.
When my brother came home from NDA (National Defence Academy), I felt, 'Wow, I should like to wear that uniform.' But I didn't want to join the army.
If I criticize my country, it is indeed very painful for me. It doesn't make me happy. But, if I see something wrong, it becomes my duty to speak up.
Somehow, Hindi movies never took me in the same way Hollywood films did. Even at the age of five or six, I could see the difference in the quality of execution.
My agent wanted me to audition for Dumbledore's character after Richard Harris died. I was asked if I would like to audition for it. But I wouldn't audition for it.
There's so much hocus-pocus about acting styles; there's too much mysticism attached to it. But it's a craft like any other - it's something you have to work hard at.
When I first dreamt of becoming a movie star, I wanted to be a Gary Cooper: I wanted to be rich and famous, living in palaces and wearing dark glasses and white suits.
A lot of scripts are written with an eye on what will be popular or what will titillate or what this actor can do well. I don't think those kinds of scripts ever work.
I feel that cinema can't change society or bring a revolution. I'm also not sure of cinema as a medium of education. Documentaries can be educative, not feature films.
I don't want any memorials or a grave which my children would have to look after or feel guilty about. I don't want to leave any trace except for the work I have done.
I don't take reviews seriously. I don't even read them. Who is this person blasting forth his opinion? What's his worth, and how different is he from any man on the street?
My dad occupied a government position, deputy collector, in a city called Nainital, so we had access to the cinemas at any time. I saw my first movies when I was very young.
When I saw Spencer Tracy in 'The Old Man and the Sea,' I realised the distinction between being an actor and a film star. He was both, and I, too, resolved to try and be both.
The ballooning budgets of Bollywood are getting out of hand, and it's important for people to realise that you don't need Rs 20 crore to make a good, commercially viable film.
Any youngster who comes to me and says he wants to act, I tell him to complete his education first because, for too long, uneducated actors have ruled the roost in the acting world.
I had decided never to dye my hair because by doing that, it doesn't make a man look young. In fact, I feel the wrinkles on a man's face become more prominent when you dye your hair.
One would marvel on the screen the way Shammi Kapoor walked, Dilip Kumar cried, or seeing Dev Anand's style. And then, one day, you are in the same space with them. It's very unreal.
I don't see a future for Broadway-style theatre in India. We already have Hindi cinema, but small, intimate theatre will survive as long as people feel the need to talk to each other.
I realise that I have made quite a few of the same mistakes with my kids that my dad made: not so much in trying to determine their lives for them but in terms of trying to discipline them.
It is very tough to make a short film. It's like writing a short story, which is tougher than writing a novel. You can't afford to faff around; you can't indulge. You have to get to the point.
As an actor, you have got to learn your job as thoroughly as you can. If you know your job, then there's nothing that can stop you. Because the bottom line is that only good actors will get work.
I don't think anybody becomes an actor to serve theatre or to serve art anywhere. We all become actors because we are insecure people who want to be looked at. That was the reason I became an actor.
Shakespeare is a seminal story-teller. I don't think he imagined he was writing classics or that he was writing great poetry. I don't think he dreamt his work would be staged 400 years after he died.
During the shooting of 'Manthan,' I lived in the hut, learnt to make cow dung cakes and milk a buffalo. I would carry the buckets and serve the milk to the unit to get the physicality of the character.
An actor can never voice his opinion through films. All an actor does is convey what the director and writer want to say. You are a mouthpiece of their ideas. Your ideas reflect only in your choice of movies.
It was the '70s when mediocrity came in Hindi films. That's when the actor called Rajesh Khanna joined the industry. For all his success, I think Mr. Khanna was a very limited actor. In fact, he was a poor actor.
Nobody can send me to Pakistan. India is my country, and I love my country. Five generations of my family have lived and died on this land, and even my children will live in this country because this is my homeland.
There was a time when I only wanted to show off, but as I've grown older, I've realised that acting isn't an end in itself. You act to communicate something, and if you have to use an accent or become thin or fat, that's part of your job.
From playwrights I had never heard of and performance forms I had never seen to sculpture and painting, I gained immense experience as an actor in National School of Drama (NSD). I discovered what discipline and good taste in the theatre means.
My relationship with my father still troubles me because it never got resolved, and there was no closure. There was a lot of bitterness, but having written about it, I found that I was able to overcome that bitterness and look at the relationship anew.
Undeniable though it is that many Indian Muslims misguidedly consider Pakistan their haven, the immeasurably greater number who take intense pride in being Indian and who connect deeply with the country are hurt and angered at our patriotism being under scrutiny.
I think our cinema has stayed in its adolescent stage largely because of our obsession with and our dependence upon stars to make our movies. The stars, being only too human, realise that this is the case, and so they milk it for whatever it's worth, and who can blame them?
Everyone equates good cinema with boring shots and boring films - where a character takes 10 minutes to walk down a corridor, and still nothing happens at the end of the shot. Those films tried to be cool and fashionable by dispensing with drama, which, in my opinion, is absolute nonsense.
There are some movies that you feel like doing because of the script. Some because it sounds like fun, some because that's the director you want to work with, some because it's a project that you want to be involved with, and some because you will be paid lots of money. But the bottom line is I must feel like doing it.