I am still attracted to stories about people who are considered to be on the outside of society. I still seek inspiration from those stories.

Post 9/11, so much has changed in New York that it does not give you that homely feeling which it did before.

I often begin movies with music in my head; it's a very important dimension to me. Not just the music itself, but how to use music in film: when and how and subtlety. I don't like to be too sweet in my stories, and I like the abrasive clang, the contrasting of sounds and cultures.

You know, the sad thing of post-9/11, which was of course horrific, was that the city in which I felt completely at home for two decades, suddenly people like us - brown people - were looked at as the 'Others.'

Never treat anything you do as a stepping stone. Do it fully, and follow it completely.

Humility is not a trait I often associate with America.

You've got to understand that in Bollywood, every actor is an instrument, and yet a human being. They come to the set with a set agenda, believing, 'This is who I am, this is what I want, and no, I am not going to become that character you want me to.'