'Salaam Bombay' didn't put a halo on the poor. Instead, it said that they will teach us how to live.

Americans are not used to being bombed in their beds, but if you come from anywhere outside America, it's not highly unusual.

Making films is about having absolute and foolish confidence; the challenge for all of us is to have the heart of a poet and the skin of an elephant.

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

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.

If we don't tell our own stories, no one else will.

Christmas lights may be the loneliest thing for me, especially if you mix them up with reindeers and sleighs. I feel alone. I feel isolated. I feel I do not belong.