Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I'm a writer, so I like nuances.
But disco is the remedy for ghosts.
The class system in India is very hard, and it is very unfair.
So at 19, I faced my first blank page as a professional writer.
When you colonise someone's dream, that's the worst thing you can do.
I'm obsessed with people, I'm obsessed with human behavior. I just watch people.
I love music, but can't hold a note in a bucket. I can't sing, can't play an instrument.
To make a good film is an art. Gender is irrelevant when it comes to craft of filmmaking.
I have a phobia. I have a serious phobia of rodents. I don't even like white mice, hamsters.
Pieces of my life, no matter how scattered, are being stitched together and reflect in my work.
Don't try to be anyone else because that's been done before. Find yourself and what makes you tick.
We need to develop artists who are not just scoring films. I'm hoping 'Gully Boy' can help with that.
Well, everyone in my family is a writer. There is a big contribution on the script level by everyone.
I am always pleasantly surprised by the criticism because I learn from it and sometimes shocked by it.
I am thrilled and very grateful that 'Gully Boy' has been picked as India's official entry for the Oscars.
See I think we are nervous about every movie before it's release, irrespective of who has directed the movie.
In 'Gully Boy', of course, Ranveer Singh's performance has largely decided what the songs will look and feel like.
I feel like all my films have my politics. As a film-maker, whatever story you're telling, your value system comes out.
When you're scoring music for a film, it has to be interwoven with the narrative, it has to reflect the mood, the ethos.
I definitely want a partner and would like to spend the rest of my life with somebody, but I don't care if am married or not.
Freedom is a sentiment associated with the youth. It is rebellion. It is what you feel at that age, and it is very important.
I want to do all kind of films. I don't want to be bracketed into one kind of cinema and if somebody does that, then it is on them.
I only drink wine, beer, and champagne. I've never had hard liquor, I've never had a whiskey drink in my life. I just don't like it.
I have learnt not to ignore instincts. While making a film, when your gut feels that you are going wrong, please take that seriously.
This is kind of a dual existence where you are harsh but at the same time emotional. You are there because you have experienced trauma.
There was no pressure at home regarding grades. We were expected to study and pass but luckily our parents gave us a broader education.
Even though 'Luck By Chance' is set in the film industry, the lead characters are people you know and see, but they are not your friends.
I feel blessed and lucky with my family, not because of the privilege, of course, I'm grateful for that as well that we never wanted anything.
I had the best shooting experience in Dharavi. People are so cooperative and busy with their work that they don't have time to be star struck.
What a good actor brings to a script is something, sometimes, even directors can't imagine. The director should always have the last say though.
As film makers or any artiste that put work out there, what you are doing on your level is that you are putting consciousness out into the world.
I mean tomorrow if I want to make a film about a queen that lived in the 15th century, I can't be like I can't make it. I should be able to make it.
As cinema is a reflection of the world around us, with more women coming into the mainstream business, more women narratives will grab the limelight.
I write my films with Reema Kagti, and I think all the characters that I have written, somewhere or the other, reflect my thoughts, ideology and morality.
My biggest challenge was when I had my first panic attack at 27. It's not something you can ignore, you can't sit around and get sucked into a rabbit hole.
Writing is my main interest; it is where my heart is. I always want to continue writing. Apart from that, I enjoy casting and hopefully want to direct too.
It is a part of us, film-makers and audiences; what we can't say with dialogues, we say with a song. We tell stories through songs, look at our folk cultures.
But if you can empathise with a character and if you can emotionally resonate with that character and understand their emotional journey, I think you are home.
Films like 'Scarface', 'The Godfather', 'Goodfellas' and 'Casino' are something I can watch again and again and from anywhere. I love them so I have to make one.
You realize you have to become aware of your inner monologue. The things you say to yourself. This raised my consciousness so it was vital to my growth, I would say.
At 19, while studying at St Xavier's College and majoring in literature and sociology, I got my first job as a copywriter. It was at a company called the Script Shop.
As a filmmaker when you show your film to anybody, you want it to be liked. You want the reviews to be positive. After watching your film, you want people to feel good.
As a director the first level of management is people. You have to deal with about 100 creative egos and make sure they subscribe to your vision and give you their best.
I draw cinematic and photography and art references from everywhere. That's part of my job. So yes, you watch films, you see artists for palettes, photographers for mood.
We are absolutely open to working with outside directors. But the criteria for working with outside directors would be the script they have, the kind of vision they have.
I come from a space where I wouldn't say all, but most of the films have really shortchanged women. I don't mean just the actresses, even just depicting us in that culture.
Some of my characters are drawn from people I know whereas others are an amalgamation of people or one specific person. Sometimes a character is simply fictional. It is always a mix.
The whole class system has oppressed so many people and given them such lack of opportunity. They are fed such strong narratives that this is where you belong and this is where you are.
When it comes to writing characters, whether men or women, I think a good writer writes good characters. I know many men who, for years, have written strong, progressive women characters.
As far as the theatrical experience is concerned, I will be highly disappointed if that goes away. I have grown up watching films in theatres so that community experience should never go.