Assuming audiences to be dumb, that's a big fallacy.
Rajkumar Hirani
I have the highest respect for the concept of 'Advait' - the oneness of all humans - that is central to Indian culture, thought, and religion.
As writers, we are sketching people all the time when we write fiction.
When you focus on your own work, it all falls in place. People respect you.
Bad choices make good stories.
Without its roots in reality, I don't think escapism can survive.
Editing is a meditative process. I enjoy it the most. I am not dealing with 200 people.
To preach is very boring, and nobody wants free advice. But if it's entertainment, then this changes. If you explain something to a kid through an interesting story, he'll be hooked.
In non-fiction, I like Wayne Dyer. I have a compilation of his best quotes near my bed! To me he's one of the finest authors.
I edit as I write and shoot. Any extra line, any pause that I know will get chopped on the editing table is done away with then and there.
I get so many scripts a day but none of them inspires me. If I get a good inspiring script, then I will be most happy to make it into a film.
Writing is a lonely process.
Filmmaking is a very collaborative art. Unlike a painting that an artist paints sitting by himself, as a director, you have to work with a team.
I completely work on the basis of my intuition. I don't think I premeditate a success formula. There is no formula to make a successful film.
I can lock myself for months in the editing suite with no noise or distractions. It's fascinating to see the film taking shape.
I'm a film maker, not a crusader. I know a film will not change the world. If it can make a difference to a few that's good enough.
I love 'Rang De Basanti.'
Film-makers are greedy people - we want good stories and good subjects.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who has produced my earlier films, is still a part of 'PK' and is presenting it. He is not a hands-on producer - he used to put a certain amount in the bank and give me the cheque book.
I like Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Hrithik Roshan. I would love to work with them all.
Any holiday seems like a guilt trip.
It is impossible to know what people will like. No market research, formulas will help, it's best to stop guessing.
I prefer to be a director and a narrator rather than a writer.
You need to have a liberal point of view for a society to grow.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra is the only man I see around who makes films because he thinks 'this is a story that needs to be told, so let's tell it.'
I'm a filmmaker first, nothing else matters.
I don't understand why we learn what we do for most of it is of no use to us in our careers. To get a grade, students learn just about everything and later none of this is relevant. Grades become more important than learning.
The longest break I have taken in my life was 14 days. On the 15th day, I started getting impatient to start work again.
I have a terrible reputation for being nervous.
Someday I want to really talk about religion and blind faith. I explored astrologers, palmistry etcetra at length till I believed it was a scam. Even in '3 Idiots' I take a dig at them.
I read till I fall asleep. Daytime actually I feel guilty reading - I always feel I should be doing something else!
I think in any work of art, there always will be randomness about what is good, what is bad.
When your first movie releases, in my case it was 'Munnabhai MBBS,' I was just relieved that it was out there. Just that sheer thought makes you happy.
I would love to make more films.
There's a big time influence Hrishikesh Mukherjee has always had on my work. I can watch 'Anand,' 'Golmaal' or 'Chupke Chupke' as many times as possible. I just really admire his kind of cinema.
I spent five years after '3 Idiots' making my next film. I didn't see a single penny in those five years.
Writing a script consumes so much of time.
Most biopics are stories of people who achieve something. It's an easier graph, a rags-to-riches story, or wanting something and reaching that. Sanju's life is not actually a case like that.
PK' is a very unique story. There are no benchmarks in Hindi cinema to give you an idea about 'PK.'
I like human-interest movies that are light-hearted.
It takes time to write a script and properly make the film and edit it.
The only time you do not get nervous is when you are making your first film. At that time, just the joy of making a movie is so high that you do not care; you are happy to have finally made it. It is only later that you want your film to be seen and appreciated by people.
With fiction, you can do whatever you want to, but if you are making a film on someone, you have to stick to the truth. You cannot just say that I will change the climax because I do not like it.
After I finish any film, I move to the next one. It takes about a year to write and another six months are for pre-production and other things. You need a minimum of two-and-a-half months for the shooting of a new film. Then, I also edit my own film.
Films have to find a way to compress many anecdotes into one, or many events into one. Otherwise there is no way to tell it in two and a half hours.
But I don't think as film-makers it is our responsibility that every time we make a film we should be saying something. If you are entertaining people, that's more than enough.
See, most films are about achievers. You see a film like 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' or 'Dhoni.' Even 'Gandhi,' or the biopic on Lincoln. They end in triumph, on a high.
I grew up in Nagpur, and I first started enjoying the author Harishankar Parsai. He wrote mostly satire, essays on the current situation and social issues. He wrote many books and I think he was my first influence.
I lived in Bandra East, on the 12th floor. There was a small earthquake; I could feel the building shaking. I was halfway down the stairs when I realised I'd forgotten my laptop, and all my scripts were on it. If I lost the laptop, I'd lose all my work. I ran back up to get it!
Like every father who wants his son to be either an engineer or a doctor, my father wanted me to become a doctor. I never did.
