Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I came to Mumbai to participate in a dance reality show and thought that could be my ticket to Bollywood. Gradually, I discovered that acting is what I am more passionate about and that passion has helped my boat sail.
I first came to Mumbai when I was very young. My mom is from here, and dad always had some work around here, so Mumbai always felt like a second home. I moved here when I was 16 and went to junior college here as well.
I have huge respect for Sridevi ji as a flag-bearer of the southern film industries in Mumbai for many years. I wish her all the best. And I wish 'Mom' a big success, as the trailer looks very intriguing and promising.
Everybody has to go through a struggle period, and I was no different. When I came to Mumbai from Delhi, I didn't know anybody, and all my relationships had to be built up from scratch, including my work relationships.
My sister is just three years older than me, but I never understood her, and I could never relate to her. In fact, I used to feel that I will never be able to like her. But when I came to Mumbai, I started missing her.
I wasn't sure if I would survive in the film industry in the beginning. So, I gave myself six months to see if things fall in place, and luckily, soon after I moved to Mumbai, I began getting modelling and acting offers.
My mother supported me when I wanted to change my career and wanted to come to Mumbai from Delhi. She supported me when I wanted to be an actor. It is her prayers, blessings and strength because of which I am here today.
The Mumbai film industry has definitely a bigger reach. But considering the rich content of work in many Bengali films, even by new directors, there has to be a better financially backed distribution model for films here.
I had a fantastic couple of years with Mumbai but I am now excited about the challenge with Rajasthan. It will be great to play alongside Ben Stokes, while any time you get to play in the IPL it is a fantastic experience.
When I came to Mumbai to audition for a dance reality show, I was in top 100. I doubted myself and did not get through. It was a lesson for me... After that day, whenever I used to go for auditions, I never doubted myself.
After completing my graduation, I went to Mumbai and started working as an assistant casting director. I worked on films like 'Talaash,' 'Ek Mai Aur Ekk Tu,' 'Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani' and 'Student Of The Year,' among others.
I was born and brought up in South Mumbai. My father, Jagdeep, is a businessman and a Sindhi. My mother is half Brit and half Muslim. I am thus a cocktail of mixed blood. From the time I remember, I wanted to be an actress.
I appreciate the change associated with people's growth, but I don't like the changes in our lives. I came to Mumbai in 1945, so imagine my acceptance of the massive changes around. I have witnessed every kind of revolution.
It's not so much what you learn about Mumbai, it's what you learn about yourself, really. It's a funny old hippie thing, but it's true as well. You find out a lot about yourself and your tolerance, and about your inclusiveness.
I have a restaurant in Sri Lanka, and I feel keen to open up something here in Mumbai and bring Sri Lankan food here in India. I feel we have so much in common, but we have a different cuisine, and I am sure people will enjoy here.
What is most amusing and can happen only in India is that the most posh and big households that I've seen in Mumbai, the 'big city', will have their balconies and windows festooned with rows of baniyans and tauliyas hanging on them.
I feel I haven't quite settled in Mumbai. One, it is a cultural shock for me and two, I feel no one really has the time for others in Mumbai. For instance, if you need them, they wouldn't be there despite swearing allegiance to you.
I came to Mumbai for my internship in advertising in an ad agency. Back then, a senior from my college who was working for Balaji asked whether I wanted to act. I agreed, and I didn't even know when it became my passion and my hobby.
It was a dream come true for me to bag a project like Bidaai' and that too when I was not from Mumbai. It was such an overwhelming moment because the show was very popular and I was getting so much love and attention from everywhere.
I had never seen an ocean before I came to Mumbai, something that now we take for granted. But the first time I stood in front of the ocean, it affected me for a week. I had never seen something as enormous. It consumed me completely.
Coming from a middle class background, I faced a lot of hardships during my initial years in Mumbai. I did not have much money and had to sing jingles and bhajans to survive. But those years taught me that a singer should be versatile.
I had moved to Mumbai in 2006 and lived there for around six years while West Bengal was going through a political upheaval. After I returned to Kolkata in February 2012, and started to work here, I realized how things had changed here.
How many more people right now feel connected to Mumbai because of Slumdog Millionaire, or suddenly are interested in the plight of orphans on Mumbai after seeing that film? The same thing with the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
I have been constantly working on the interiors of my homes in Delhi, Goa, Dubai, Mumbai, and the Red Chillies Building. I had been designing homes, too. Having a background in art, graphic design, and charcoal helped me in my work immensely.
Beauty and fashion are not really local anymore. You really have to be a global citizen to know what trends are. Now, it's pretty much the same designers and the same kind of trends, whether I am in New York, Milan, or Mumbai - it's the same.
When we left Mumbai to play in the World Cup there were hardly any journalists to see us off. But when we returned to India on July 25 having made the final, there were close to a hundred journalists at 2.30 in the morning. It was totally new.
I need to crack the Mumbai traffic code - if I leave early, under the assumption that there will be traffic, I get completely clear roads and reach an hour before my meeting, and then because I can't find parking I end up having to walk anyway.
In Mumbai, Marathi schools are shutting down and Urdu schools are increasing. The parties governing the BMC are giving permission to these schools. If Urdu schools are rising, you know whose numbers are increasing and who is coming to the city.
In Mumbai, it's almost like Hollywood. They can appeal to different segments and still be successful. There are multiplex audiences to whom you can showcase any lifestyle. But in Tamil cinema, we need to satisfy everybody, whether urban or rural.
As for the development of Mumbai, the problem is that most of our chief ministers are from interior Maharashtra and they are not familiar with the problems confronting the city. Only someone born here will understand the problems of the metropolis.
'Maaligai,' where I play a dual role of a cop and a princess, initially was to be made as a Kannada movie. My producers from Mumbai and director Dil Sathya felt that it should be made as a bilingual in Tamil also, as I have a good market in K'town.
When I was in Mumbai for the promotion of 'Makkhi,' I met Ajay Devgn, Kajol, and Shah Rukh Khan, and I wanted to meet Aamir Khan. He was shooting out of India. I also met my favourite director, Raju Hirani. All of them showered praises on 'Makkhi.'
It was a major turning point in my career when Anup Jalota invited me to accompany him on his various world tours. I was in two minds whether to pursue a music career in Mumbai or to stay back in Calcutta. Being the only son, it was a tough decision.
We are seeing a changed Mumbai, but having showcased Dharavi in 'Slum Dog Millionaire' brought shame and disgrace to our city. Whenever the firangs visit Mumbai, they must visit Dharavi; it has become a sightseeing spot. However, I feel saddened about it.
I was interested in theatre and media and came to Mumbai to get a job. I imagined that the film industry would be a white building with producers sitting in different rooms, and you could walk in and meet them, and they would interview you and select you.
But one of the best things away from playing was a visit to a Mumbai slum. You see people in their conditions, getting stuck into their way of life and not moaning, and realise how lucky you are to be doing what you are doing. It put things into perspective.
I was born in Mumbai, but I grew up in England, and then my adulthood has been in the States. I'm an American stuffed with an English person with an Indian person inside. I feel like those things kind of inform me in some way, which I think helps me as an actor.
I was born in Mumbai. We stayed in a joint family. But in 1994, my father had to shift to Pune for business. I started working at a very early stage. Immediately after my SSC board examination, I took up odd jobs in shops, as I wanted to contribute to my family.
The fact is I like Mumbai less and less. My son says, 'Baba, let's go for a drive', and I tell him, 'Where's the fun of a drive in this place?' You get caught in a million traffic jams, and you spend time cooped in your car with all that mad cacophony around you.
My dad has a lot of foresight and decided that I would not do any shows in Mumbai till I became a singer and got to sing my own songs. He knew that if I started earning money from shows, I would not have the time and aggression to rough it out to become a singer.
Since 2005, I have not spent much time with my family. In fact I have spent more time at the Taj Landsend in Mumbai. It was my 100th visit recently, which means I have spent more than 400 days in that hotel, and that is a lot more than I have spent with my family.
I was not picked immediately at any level, be it Under-14, Under-16 or Under-19. So apart from my batting, I bowled legspin. In one of the selection tournaments for Mumbai Under-19, I happened to pick 34 wickets. So I was finally picked, but as a bowling allrounder.
When I look back at my journey, it gives me a sense of confidence. I have been through an odd journey from Delhi to Mumbai, struggling, not having a job, shifting houses... Today, I am giving interviews. So it does give me gratitude and confidence. The fear is gone.
After my 12th, my parents moved to Bangalore while I moved to Mumbai to study Economics at Sophia College. Much unlike other girls who managed to evade the curfew and organised the slips to get out of college, we would attend college and were interested in academics.
Have you ever stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai? I'd warmly recommend it. It's super luxurious, and right next door, there's a classic slum. So you can do a quick slum tour and get back to your sanctuary without any inconvenience but with some excellent snaps.
Above all, Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' is the work of an artist at the peak of his powers. India is his palette, and Mumbai - that teeming 'maximum city', with 19 million strivers on the make, jostling, scheming, struggling and killing for success - is his brush.
Mumbai is home, so there's no comparison. But then again, New York's a lot like Mumbai, which is why I choose to live there. It's fast, crowded (in a good way), the people are friendly and it's full of color and race, like Mumbai. Unfortunately, the traffic's also just as bad.
Though Suparna is a Malayali, she has spent a large part of her life in Mumbai. She's a Mumbai girl. In fact, I saw the real Mumbai through Suparna's eyes. Of course, I knew Mumbai before I got to know Suparna. But it was Suparna who showed me sides to Mumbai I had never seen.
When I came to Mumbai, I didn't know a soul. The only person I knew was an assistant director, which, everyone agrees, is the lowest form of life on the set. So, it was not a great contact to have. So, I knew from day one that I wasn't going to be launched opposite a superstar.
In Delhi, I became a serious stage actor. Then, luckily, the FTII acting course began, and I studied there, spent some time working on my craft. In 2008, I moved to Mumbai, and then in one and a half years of so-called struggle, I got my first film, 'Love Sex aur Dhokha' (LSD).