I do enjoy thinking about the past.

Playing the good guy is boring. I love twisted, flawed characters.

'Macbeth,' I am ambivalent about. I don't like that play, in fact.

I've always found people with physical disabilities interesting to watch: how the dynamics of their body work, what makes them move this way or that.

What drew me into being an actor was that I never got cast in the school plays - and it used to kill me.

Somehow, Hindi movies never took me in the same way Hollywood films did. Even at the age of five or six, I could see the difference in the quality of execution.

My dad occupied a government position, deputy collector, in a city called Nainital, so we had access to the cinemas at any time. I saw my first movies when I was very young.

I have gone into every project with the same enthusiasm and the same hope, but some have worked out, and some haven't.

Finally, I have realised that it is important to look good.

'Bombay Boys' is among my favourite movies and my favourite performance of myself.

There are some movies that you feel like doing because of the script. Some because it sounds like fun, some because that's the director you want to work with, some because it's a project that you want to be involved with, and some because you will be paid lots of money. But the bottom line is I must feel like doing it.

People think I am joking when I say my favourite actors are Shammi Kapoor and Dara Singh.

When I see an emotion being enacted by a great actor, I always feel I can never do that.

One would marvel on the screen the way Shammi Kapoor walked, Dilip Kumar cried, or seeing Dev Anand's style. And then, one day, you are in the same space with them. It's very unreal.

I was lucky to land up in Mumbai when serious cinema was just beginning to flower.

I have the highest regard for the police forces.

I can say with pride that I have a brother who served with distinction in the Indian Army.

There was a time when I only wanted to show off, but as I've grown older, I've realised that acting isn't an end in itself. You act to communicate something, and if you have to use an accent or become thin or fat, that's part of your job.

My dream is to produce a generation of actors who realise what the function of an actor in a movie is supposed to be.

Nobody can send me to Pakistan. India is my country, and I love my country. Five generations of my family have lived and died on this land, and even my children will live in this country because this is my homeland.

A person takes his own path. My father tried to guide me the best way he thought I should go, and it didn't work. I went the way I wanted to.

The magic of theatre is how much can you stimulate the mind of the audience, not how many illusions you can create.

When I saw Spencer Tracy in 'The Old Man and the Sea,' I realised the distinction between being an actor and a film star. He was both, and I, too, resolved to try and be both.

It's a blessing to stay a child all your life - pretend to be this and that. And get paid for it.