Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I must say that Bengaluru has been one of the best places where I've performed and I would love to associate with the theatre scene here on a personal level.
I have been rather selective, doing not more than two or thee films a year, so that leaves me with plenty of time to prep for my plays and theatre activities.
We compare everything with what is being done in the West. Even the film reviews are written like that. It is sad because we are trying to belittle ourselves.
My real uncle was a pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF). I was very enamored with him because he had a great personality. He used to look dashing in his uniform.
My job is that of an actor. As long as I get to act, get some interesting parts to play, get to be a part of interesting stories, I would certainly want to do it.
In theatre there is a certain discipline that you have to follow, and you have to be experienced to be performing in front of a live audience. It is satisfying to me.
There's no set rule, but when you look at the script, you start thinking about this person and how to create this human being on screen. You dig deeper into a script.
Women do have better roles to play, more characters are being written. For instance, Surpriya Pathak's character in 'Ram Leela' or Neena Gupta's part in 'Badhaai Ho'.'
Every actor must go through the process of learning and not just be in a hurry to become famous. They should learn to live in small amounts and not to try and copy others.
The director needs to have a vision and clarity in his mind. It's not enough to know the story, he or she should have the knowledge and efficiency to execute it articulately.
Small events and some songs and dance do not make a film. A film needs to have a proper structure and there has to be an output which would be relevant to people who watch it.
From the initial days of my career I have always given importance to two things. One is to heed to directors instructions and the other is to have faith on my action director.
So, 50 films, 3 National Awards, 74 plays and serials later, here I am playing Professor Das in JL50,' who understands time travel. When in reality, I'm not tech savvy at all.
Children should be kept as normal as possible. At a very young age, they are not even aware of the happenings around them. You need to do whatever you can to grow them normally.
I don't have any single character that is my favorite because I would like to be known for the sum total of my work and not for an individual character that I might have played.
Seventy years on, the wound of Partition is still raw. There have been some beautiful attempts like Garam Hava,' but it's not easy to make a film without hurting some sentiments.
Our cinema is coming of age, and people are realizing we need to tell different stories differently and in fresh manner and not just do formula stuff and serve it to the audience.
We've not given any attention to the people in their 50s and 60s, who need attention, education and engagement, in terms of the society and in terms of their identity as human beings.
As an actor, I have always felt, everything is available in the script. If there is anything you feel the script lacks, you can have a discussion with the director and point out those.
I believe your children should work on their own and make a name for themselves. By doing this they become confident. My parents did this with me and I tried to do the same with my children.
The Urdu or Hindustani language we use isn't popular in theatre these days. It was a language that was being used in cinema from the 1950s until the '80s. It is a very communicative language.
If you want a good play and a show, you need time to prep for it. Artistes must be allowed to practice without being charged for the practice sessions. Let the auditorium charge for the tickets.
Back in the 1990s, I had an opportunity to make a film. But I realized that it is better for me to go in stages so I could explore myself as an actor and in the process I started writing scripts.
When I was doing theatre in Mumbai, actors won't come because they had television. For many years, I did theatre religiously and in Mumbai, I saw people disrespecting it and it hurt me very badly.
I agree I'd like to do more work. But the right kind of roles has to be offered to me. I'm not saying the roles need to be realistic all the time, though that's what I like connecting with on screen.
In a play, a few actors perform a few characters, and they need to perform those characters with a certain level of believability so that audiences can actually understand and see them as those characters.
If you have to make a story in 10 rupees or you know that at this stage you can get only 10 rupees then you cut down on your expenses. But when one has made four-five films one likes to broaden the horizons.
I was required to jump from a parachute into a lake and for this I was dangled in the air 100 feet above the ground with the help of a harness. It was scary in the beginning as I had never attempted such a thing before.
While pursuing engineering, my passion for theatre grew. So, I told dad I wanted to pursue acting - 'Do you really want to be an actor or are you drawn to the glamour?' he asked. I convinced him of my passion and applied to film schools.
We have ambitions, we go on with our lives. We get married and have families. But I was interested to know what happens to those girls who become mothers and grandmothers. They sacrificed their self at a time when they were young and healthy.
We have had examples in our industry of people working for 30-40 years because of their ability to act. Your looks leave you after a point, you don't look the same way you did when you were in your 20s or 30s. After that you have only your ability to show.
Many people from the industry come up to me and say 'We don't see you onscreen much.' But where are the scripts? Do you think I am not sitting in my office and waiting for something like 'Matru' to happen to me? I would love to do four such films in a year.
Different kind of cinema is being created, people are coming up with different kind of scripts, they are able to come up with scripts that work with the audiences and also scripts which will have something to say to the audience, which is a heart-warming thing.
I have been fortunate to get different types of work, but by and large till 90s for actors like me there were not many opportunities besides playing brother of the heroine or friend of the hero or young college villain after the earlier new wave was consumed by television.
I know that people in Dubai are particularly well read, educated and intelligent and that the audience in front of me will come looking forward to an evening that is different from watching a film. That is the kind of crowd that goes to a theatre or a play and I am hoping to see many of them in Dubai.
As an actor you are supposed to do some kind of action in case it is required. I remember this sequence where I was pulled up by a wire 100 ft above the ground. This was my first time that I was hung with a wire and I was a bit scared. But I must say it was a very beautiful experience looking down at everybody from a height.