It gave me a lot of pleasure and pride that 90 percent of the crew for 'Monsoon Wedding,' and most of my film, are women. We get the work done, you know, much lesser play of ego... And I really believe in harmony, I believe in working in a spirit of egolessness and that the film is bigger than all of us.

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

I've loved 'Vanity Fair' since I was 16 years old. You know, we're all colonial hangovers in India, steeped in English literature. It is one of these novels that I read under the covers at my convent boarding school in Simla.

I grew up in a very small town which is remote even by Indian standards. I always dreamed of the world.

It's only at this age that I can say the word 'art' without flinching.

It took me three years to learn to dress in the American way, especially in winter. That was just like me. I barely wear socks even now.

What is really important to me is a sense of humour and a mischief about life. Life is just too boring otherwise.