In school I was sidelined by Tamil language teachers. But in the film industry, I got interested in Tamil poetry after reading and working with the Vairamuthu.

You can't say there is only one way of doing things, the police way of ensuring law and order.

At the end of the day, all I want is that my films should do well.

A director is a very selfish person. For him, his film is like his baby.

Each success gives me the adrenaline to move to another film.

Westerners are open to Indian films.

Writing is nagging, fascinating, troublesome and exciting.

I don't believe that to be mainstream you have to be foolish. I don't think you have to be a buffoon to sell. I think you can be logical, aesthetic and still work within the mainstream format.

I like songs. It's a weakness that I have.

When you listen to music, you listen to music. You like it very much or not.

There are filmmakers who get lucky with the first film itself, and then there are some of us who have to face difficulties.

I did my first film in Kannada.

What you write sets the visual style for the film. But you have to compromise your style in your first few films before people let you do what you want to do.

Rahman is very very director friendly. He is ever ready to go whichever the director wants, the story wants, depending on the kind of movie or the music you want, and within that he finds his niche. It is a constantly complementary process. At the end of the day he is not pleasing you, he has to please himself.

Kamal Haasan is a huge talent.

I am not against songs in films. We come from an oral tradition of storytelling. I have grown up listening to epics in oral rendition and oral rendition always had music.

To catch a piece of life on camera and make it come alive, add layers to it and deliver a product that is wholesome is really exciting to me.

I don't believe in giving advice.

Even in a conservative society like Chennai, youngsters don't feel bound by conventions anymore.

When your principal artists deliver convincing performances, the film's quality is elevated.

Once the film is released, once my job is over, I can't see the film again.

Filmmaking is not a one man show. It is not like I'm thinking something and they are expressing it. I try to pull the actor in and together we try to get the expression. It is not my thinking alone, it is our thinking. The actor also becomes a part of the thought process.

Certain subjects are best done with stars. Certain subjects like 'Alai Payuthe' are done with non-stars. In such films, stars are a burden.

Most ideas remain inside you for a while. You tell somebody when there is a spark or a thought, and leave it at that. You come back later, write down a few lines. I makes note in my mind on whether it can be made into a film or not.