I think it's really important not to be so judgmental and not to be so fearful. Try to have confidence in yourself. Don't depend so much on what others say about you or want you to be.

Oh my God! Why did I leave India? I fell in love with a white man. That's what it was. It was the most boring, predictable reason in the world. I met him in India, we fell in love, and we got married. And then, we got divorced. Sorry about that.

My screenplays are very detailed. The reason they're detailed... you have to think on your feet. You have to be ready to change because there are no such things as ideal conditions.

While we're working on the script, I never see any films. I make it a point because I don't want to get distracted. I don't want to be influenced, and before I know it, have somebody say, "My God, she plagiarized that line."

One of the things that I really love about doing a film is working with actors and the whole casting process. I feel I'm not looking for actors. I feel I'm looking for characters. If the characters come from Bollywood, fine. If they come from Indian theater, perfect.

I think it's really important not to be so judgmental and not to be so fearful. Try to have confidence in yourself. Don't depend so much on what others say about you or want you to be.

Even though ashrams... probably still exist in India, you don't find a child widow anymore.