Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I was not nervous while making 'Nazar' because I was well prepared. I took three months to prepare. When I went on the sets, I knew what I was doing.
I think TV, at times, is incredibly regressive, but I guess with the way few people are ready to experiment, the progressive streak has slowly crept in.
I am the mother, and the emotional chord with my children is naturally strong. So there are times when I might get sleepless nights because I am worried.
People opposing dance bars claim that a lot of money is wasted in bars. I want to ask them why not target five star hotels, too, where a lot of money is spent?
Actresses do glamorous roles, and then, after 10 films, they do an offbeat one. But Alia didn't do that. She picked films like 'Highway' and 'Udta Punjab,' too.
I had directed a short film called 'Girvhi' earlier, on child labour. It was a fictional story. At that time, I realised I could direct a film if given a chance.
I probably marketed myself all wrong. I had exotic looks; I should have done those glamorous roles that exuded 'oomph.' But in my head, I was always an actress first.
When someone is humiliating and harassing a woman, he must be knowing that the victim is needy and left with no option but to tolerate such harassment to save the job.
Struggle is always very demoralising. It's not a romantic phase in anybody's life. It's very difficult. What it does is, it brings out your creativity in different way.
I was a complete anomaly in this business. I didn't fit into the Hema Malini-Zeenat Aman commercial cinema mould, neither the Shabana Azmi-Smita Patil art cinema mould.
Like every mother, I also want Alia and Shaheen to be happy. Whatever they do, they should feel satisfied doing it. I'm not a paranoid mother who pushes them to settle down.
I wanted to work in the Hindi film industry much more than what I was offered. But if you are a grain of rice in a wheat field, it is not your fault... You are just different.
I've never had it easy. There have been fortunate coincidences and instances, but nothing has fallen into my lap. Whatever I've achieved has always been through sheer hard work.
Alia doesn't need my guidance regarding the kind of films she should do. Rather, she is quite a sorted individual who follows a strong instinct. And this seems to have worked in her favour.
In this country, if a woman wants to work, she has very little choice. After you cross the age suitable for a heroine, there is nothing in the middle; the next thing you do is you become a mother.
It makes the city unique and hold a charm. In old Kolkata, there are some beautiful old buildings... some of them are well-maintained; somewhere reflects what the city has gone through in the past.
Acting, according to me, gets better with time and age. The more experiences you have in life, the more you have seen, the better equipped you are to deal with complexity and bring out the depth in characters.
Alia was a very obedient child. The only thing she was fussy about was what dress she wore. I would have to give her choices, and she would pick her dress out knowing very well exactly what she wanted to wear.
For a woman, there is a complete dearth of roles to do. Abroad, you really have good roles, and by good roles, I don't mean the film has to be women oriented. I wouldn't mind playing a well-written, small role.
I don't know what kept us together. Initially, both of us were hotheaded, so we would end up fighting a lot. But there was a lot of love and respect, too, I guess. I believe that's the key to a successful marriage.
Being half Kashmiri, it's always special for me to shoot in the valley and to be there with the locals. They are all very warm people who are very hospitable and genteel and always welcome everyone with an open heart.
Forget being an actor-director: we, as citizens, have the responsibility to make the country a better place. And that doesn't mean advertising other people's agendas; it means looking at what is wrong and making it right.
It's tough for a child to deal with expectations that people have if they have a successful parent. A child often fails to cope with the same and constantly tries to find out possible ways to excel - just to live up to the name.
I am as curious about my daughter's acting debut as the rest of the world. I think Alia has got the best possible debut under the biggest banner. But it's not going to be easy for her to go from the first to the second film smoothly.
To be honest, nobody was running after me with roles, so there also came a time when I did neglect the acting side and was keen on directing and pursuing that. People got this impression, 'She's directing, not acting,' stuff like that.
I did not bring up my child to think that she was a star. If I had treated her any differently, it would have messed everything up. She was brought up normally, like other kids, in a normal house, and it was a normal, middle-class life.
In 'Yours Truly,' I was the centre of the story; I was the protagonist. There was a lot more happening inside the mind of the character which was not projected loudly through dialogue and action... As a performer, playing such a nuanced, internal character is challenging.
The entertainment industry is always targeted at young people. Understandably so, as they are the key consumers. The young are the ones who are falling in love, starting out in life; older people aren't. Nobody thinks, 'Now I'm going to write a film about an older person.'
Compared to Alia, it's little more difficult for Shaheen, as she has a famous father and a famous sibling, too. So, I always tell my daughters to not to pay much heed to these expectations and give more importance to their dreams. They should keep working hard and find their own talent.
It is easy to say that if such harassment happens, walk out of your job. But people depend on that job. It is about their livelihood, a question of survival. So while we must encourage victims for coming up with their #MeToo stories, we should not judge women for not sharing their stories.
I have always been known as Mahesh Bhatt's wife, and I would tell people, 'Hello! I'm here!' This has always been a struggle. I would like to be known for who I am. I'm very happy to be known as his wife or Alia's mother. But I am also a person who, in her own right, has gone through quite a lot of odds.
There will always be people who will first wait for somebody's comment and then attack them. I'll say they are just cowards. They have no opinions of their own. It's very easy to be a sheep; it's not easy to be a shepherd. One should not give a damn about these trolls. One should not give them importance at all.
I feel, if I criticize my country, it's not because I don't like my country. I love my country. That is my patriotism. I want to make it a better place for my children, for everyone. And if we don't look at what's in front of us, and we allow things to get out of hand because of other vested interests, then as citizens are not doing a good job.