I was very shy and very reserved as a child, very, very introvert.

I don't spend on expensive brands. I don't need foreign holidays.

Meeting Helen Mirren was a fabulous experience. I had played it out in my mind, how I should greet her when we would be introduced. But the way we met was funny because I just didn't recognise her!

I have been in the film industry for 35 years, and everyone, including the spot-boys, will vouch for my character.

I prefer working in good cinema, wherever it is. I like subjects that have a universal appeal.

The fact is I like Mumbai less and less. My son says, 'Baba, let's go for a drive', and I tell him, 'Where's the fun of a drive in this place?' You get caught in a million traffic jams, and you spend time cooped in your car with all that mad cacophony around you.

I am grateful to theatre for making me what I am today. But it's not like theatre is my first love. I am equally attached to cinema, which is, actually, a child of theatre, since it borrows heavily from it.