I have four elder sisters, and being the youngest, I was pampered.
I am not lost. I am very much alive.
If you are confident about yourself and wear what you love, you will exude a style of your own.
Along with some of my college friends, I would often bunk classes and drive to Murthal, which is about 50 km from New Delhi, just to have some piping hot parathas. There was this small roadside dhaba where they would serve absolutely delicious aloo parathas with dollops of butter.
My favourite actor is Daniel Day Lewis. He's the finest actor in Hollywood. I've studied his performances.
There is a very thin line dividing characterisation from impersonation. I've to make sure I don't cross over into mimicry.
The best thing is to accept the circumstances, not take them personally, deal with them, stop complaining, and give everything your best.
No matter what you achieve, what you want to aspire to be, or how famous and powerful you become, the most important thing is whether you are excited about each and every moment of your life because of your work and people around you.
I will continue doing things irrespective of the medium as long as I'm excited about it.
Things are difficult for outsiders in the industry, and it is very evident, too. It does not mean that insiders have it easy or that it's impossible for outsiders to break in. More often than not, the difference is about how successes and failures are viewed and magnified.
I pray to God every day that he makes me the biggest superstar, but before that, I ask God to make me a good actor. Being a star is hard, but being an actor is even harder. I want to be both before I am done.
I have seen extreme lows because of factors that were not in my hands - be it not having money to buy my first bike, dropping out of a prestigious engineering college without having a single rupee in my bank account, living with seven boys in a single-room kitchen in Mumbai, or eating nothing but khichdi every day. But I cherish all those moments.
The equation I share with the camera doesn't change whether you place a camera in front of me or a live audience. Just the pay cheques differ. But that doesn't matter to me because I've so much money, I don't even think about it. It's just lying there.
I wanted to be a cricketer. But I was not skilled enough to be a national-level cricketer.
I think people generally are lost, as they keep thinking about what is going to happen and what they have done. They are not alive anymore. The art of listening is missing. In their head, they are doing something else.
Whatever dream you have, be sure that it is going to be happen, and then forget about it. Then you have to come back to the present and be there 100 percent.
TV helped me understand camera angles, close-ups, master shots.
To be able to make statements, you need to be confident about what you think. You need to have a sense of right and wrong.
I'm a trained engineer, so I'm conditioned to come up with a right answer to a difficult question, but when it comes to art, there is no definite answer because it's so subjective.
I was very excited and interested as a background dancer or as a theatre actor or when I was working on TV, or even on the film which didn't do well, like 'Byomkesh.'
I read the script. If I like it, I would do anything I am asked to.
For me, the opposite of happiness isn't sadness but boredom.
My dad told me when I was very young, that I should not get married before 30. His only advice to me was to live my life.
Given a chance, I would love to romance Tabu. I wouldn't mind doing a film with Manisha Koirala, either. Or Madhuri Dixit.
Everything happening around me is very random. I am enjoying the phase, as the journey is far more enjoyable than the destination.
I realised quite early that by the time I articulate my thoughts into words, I'm on to another thought. And what comes out wasn't what I thought of exactly. So not talking was a better option.
I have been blessed with strong leg muscles, and dancing really exercises one's legs.
You can't make two films at the same time.
Instead of sounding pretentious, phony, or repetitive, I'd rather not speak.
Dibakar and Shekhar have the vision that we would associate with European cinema. They leave their actors on their own to give a personal narration on the screen.
When I was in the eighth standard, I would dance to 'Suraj hua madham.' I have to achieve many things before I become even the 'S' of SRK.
I have songs that define characters from each film of mine. It can be a song from that particular film or something that just goes with the wavelength of the film; you listen to it, and it gives you that rhythm. I can't articulate how it helps, but it somehow gives you an understanding of the character.
Four days a week, I do gymming, four days marital arts. Once a week I normally play lawn tennis, and once a week I horseride.
It took me 13 months just to prepare for 'M.S. Dhoni'... I started by watching every single video I could find of his, repeatedly. After three months, people who met me started saying that they could see similarities, and I knew I was on the right path.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the best actor because his choice of roles are so diametrically opposite from each other, and he pulls it off almost every time so convincingly.
Cricketers have to perform in front of millions, and there are no retakes. If then you become a hero, you deserve all the accolades coming your way.
I come from a family of doctors and engineers, and everyone expected me to take up a similar career. That was the most natural thing to do!
I experienced a lot of things while I was working with Dibakar Banerjee.
I have made a lot of mistakes, but I am proud of them all.
I crave for adventure. It makes me feel alive and excited. It's a constant tussle between what you want to do and other parameters that aren't in your hands.
My exercise regime is a mix of gymming, marital arts, sports, etc.
When I was young, I was supposed to study in the afternoon, and 4 - 5:30 P.M. was playtime. The entire day would revolve around that time. We would play anything - kabaddi, cricket. Those one and half hours would feel like 5 minutes.
Our job, as actors, is not to tell the audience how interesting we are, but to entertain them with our films.
I am not bothered with whether my characters are conventional or not. Because I am not in this for the designer labels and the autographs.
The only strong opinion that I have about myself is that I don't have any opinions.
We should never forget the inevitable, as we will lose everything eventually. So, why fret over any kind of security? The idea is to just fly and experience it all while it lasts.
Before the film begins shooting, in your head, you need to be the character. You have to convince yourself somehow.
I love layering with great fitting jackets.
I've been a fan of Dhoni for years. I've seen him play for India for over 10 years.
