You create a work of art. You do not know whether it will get public sanction. Sometimes outstanding films do no business, and sometimes films which are not so good work.
I am always in a rush because time is slipping away, and I am chasing it, chasing it.
Life is too short. I don't have time to speak slowly.
I was the leading star in 1945. I slowed down my pace of acting assignments after I came into direction.
I keep drawing inspiration from people every day. All of a sudden, something strikes me so hard and dramatically, and then a dream comes - I sit down, cut it off and make a script out of it.
'Hum Dono' was accepted in a very big way. It was the official entry at the 1962 Berlin Film Festival.
There are so many people who come to me to be an actor, but I select only those people who I feel can fit my script. If they do, I immediately say yes. I don't do screen tests. I talk to them and see how their mind functions. I read their mind and cast them.
If you are a creative person, then your mind gets sharper with age. My mind is very sharp, and I am happy for that.
Motion picture making is a very, very involved affair. It is completely my baby. I'm a thorough professional. I plan films right from the conception of an idea to its final execution.
I think an individual's mind is a marvellous thing. I truly believe that if your mind is strong, your body tries hard to keep pace with it.
Somebody came up with the idea of a double role, and I think 'Hum Dono' gave me a great double role - I played Captain Anand and Major Verma, the 'haw-haw' type of major.
A film maker is a very intelligent man. Do not underestimate him.
If I wanted, I could have ruled half of Bombay.
No film should be meaningless.
Anybody whose film becomes a hit is a superstar. Today there is somebody, and tomorrow there will be somebody else. No single woman or man has a monopoly for all time.
It's an institution that was born with my brother Chetan and me. I did it for him. I was becoming a big star in the late 1940s, and he needed a company to make films. So when he left Navketan, I brought in Goldie, and when Goldie left, I carried on alone. No book on Indian cinema is complete without mention of Navketan.
People have always complained that we have made films ahead of times. 'Hum Dono' is still modern. We had wars then, and we have wars today. We had love and separation then, and we have that today.
Other black and white films have also been released in colour, but 'Hum Dono' is better than all of them. When you watch 'Hum Dono Rangeen,' you will feel as though it was shot in colour; you won't feel that I have got the reels painted by brush.
At one time, I have campaigned for Krishna Menon and am very friendly with Rajni Patel. However, I now feel that we need a fresh approach. This is not reviving the Swatantra Party.
A very small proportion of the country's black money is in the movie industry. Because we are written about, public attention is focused on us. Do you think there is no black money in other businesses? With the exception of government servants and others who have tax deducted at source, there are tax evaders in every walk of life.
