My family is almost exactly like the one in 'Monsoon Wedding'. We are very open, fairly liberal, loud people.

My family is almost exactly like the one in 'Monsoon Wedding'. We are very open, fairly liberal, loud people.

I grew up in a small town in India, but through books I knew the world.

We all know the power of film; we all know there's almost nothing more powerful than to see people on film that look and talk like you, like we do.

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

I look for the humanity in people, however big the politics or oppressive the situation may be, whether it's subsumed within a human being or between two human beings. I want to help us hold a mirror to ourselves.

It is because my roots are so strong that I can fly.