I don't know if it is of any joy to humiliate people. No matter what, whether you're high in life or low in life, humiliation and such kinds of things should just be ignored. I don't derive any pleasure from running people down.
I don't seek validation outside, not even with the audience. Today they like me, but tomorrow they may hate me. I don't want to be anybody's role model.
In India, it's a matter of fact that a girl child is seen as a liability. Probably the only expectation is that you grow up to a presentable young woman who can get a decent spouse.
It's very hard to live in an environment where you're reminded, constantly told that your existence just happens to be here... That you are not meant to be here.
I write poems, I meditate. I don't live up to people's expectations. I don't do the conventional cool things - I know I am the coolest person.
Ever since I was a child, I would start crying seeing anyone in pain.
Many people are insecure of many people.
A lot of my friends are getting married, but I don't think that is what I need. I am under no such pressure that if everybody is having a boyfriend, I too should have one.
You spend so much to buy these media net stories or full page ads to build perception... you can rather save this money and put it in the making or marketing of the film.
I schooled in Himachal Pradesh. I had taken up science and, initially, wanted to become a doctor. There are few career options for students of science though, so I shifted to Delhi and decided to try theater instead.
Success is the best revenge. I always feel women should answer back either with their sarcasm or success.
I have a knack for choosing the wrong people.
I don't think there is anything unusual about my struggle. It's a very typical struggle where you meet bad people, and then you meet good people, and then you finally have a breakthrough.
I want to make films that cater to the world audiences.
As it is, relationships are difficult, aren't they?
My parents gave me the easy option that if you're going to go your way, that's the highway. You can expect no funds and no support, which I think was legitimate; that was a fair option.
If you work with big stars, then they become the lead actors. It's not that I don't want to do films with big stars, but I would rather do the films where I get the title roles.
Hits and flops are overrated.
All beautiful things in this world are because of women.
In Bollywood, if you work with a superstar, even if you are a newcomer, you become a superstar. That didn't happen with me.
I had no work after 'Gangster' for two years, and my sister Rangoli met with an accident that destroyed her looks. My struggle with my parents combined with the industry not accepting me made me feel alienated.
Money can't buy everything, but it can buy most of it. Because of money, I could give my parents a comfortable life.
It's very hard for me to find any sort of shame or blame in my life. I'm not made that way.
I'm my own hero on the sets; why should I work with other heroes? The Khans did not want to work with me when I started. Why should I work with them now?
I have been the struggler of the century. Fortunately, everyone loves the underdog.
Before I turned vegetarian, I used to often cook seafood or my favourite breakfast of eggs and bacon. Now, I love making pulao or rice with lots of spices and vegetables.
I come from Surajpur, a valley in Himachal Pradesh near Manali that is named after my great grandfather Sarju Singh Ranaut.
I don't feel like a 27-year-old; I feel I am way mature than someone that age.
I think the kind of films and roles I do takes a whole year... I think it is justified. At some point, we have to come to that place where we are equally paid. It is a small step... we are headed to that direction.
When I left my home to become an actress, my father didn't give me a single penny. I struggled a lot, and they had no idea what I went through. My grandfather even asked me to drop my surname when he learnt I was joining films.
I know the consequences of my decisions. I've said no to the biggest of brands. So when I say no to something, I know how much business I will lose out on.
My biggest asset is that I know how to learn, and that, I believe, will help me in the long run.
Even when I was rebelling against my father, the point was to follow my own intuition and instinct.
I am a very proud Hindu. The foundation of my personality is laid on the teachings of Swami Vivekananda or Sanatan Dharm or the Geeta. And if my religious practices or anybody's religious practices is given any kind of sadistic name, it instills fear about other person's religious practices.
Modesty is good. But not when it comes at the cost of honesty.
My ancestors are Rajputs from Jaipur, a lineage of the royal family.
For my life, I need to make my own choices.
The thing about Bollywood is that you can't just quit it even if you have little fame. You have to stick around and keep trying.
When I moved to Bombay, it was very harsh. I was nothing like what I am today. I couldn't speak a word of English. In England, people might be very understanding about that, but in Bombay, they're not very forgiving. 'If you don't speak English, how do you expect to work in Hindi films?'
When I did these psychological characters like the drug addicts, the ones who were rejected and dejected, I started to feel a sort of melancholia which was very unnatural for me to have at a teenage. Then I avoided those characters.
Freedom of being alone is intoxicating.
I don't find anything upsetting or gross or degrading about fighting with a mental illness: Bipolar or Schizophrenia.
Somewhere down the line, I realised that dairy products were giving me acidity, so now I am a vegan.
Imagine: in the medieval ages, there was no evidence of how the history of mankind has been affected by witchcraft. But there is significant factual history of how brutality and sadism of mankind have been displayed in the most obscene manner in the name of witch-hunt.
Male actors get into production, share profit, and they don't take money at times but are involved in some capacity which is economical and resourceful. These things suit them; as they have made a place for themselves, they have command over the box office.
In 'Rangoon', I play an action star of the 1940s.
I need nothing from my companion. No money, no financial security, no emotional support, nothing. All I want is the freedom to be myself.
I don't know why everyone feels the pressure to look young. Personally, I hate it. I don't want to inject Botox and look young forever. It's living in denial and anything that has an undercurrent of this philosophy is bad for your growth.
I am extremely proud of my rags-to-riches story. It's fun to be a misfit or an underdog if you acknowledge your gifts and befriend your obstacles.
