I make aesthetic movies which are grand and with some of the biggest stars. It's not fair to run them down. I don't make tacky films.
Even with a big budget, you can make a niche film.
Aamir Khan in a sense, was my first teacher for filmmaking. He used to answer my doubts on the sets of 'Joh Jeeta Wahi Sikander.'
When I am making a movie, I am very casual; wearing chappals, and have my hair tied. However, when I am judging a show, I take care of myself and get the makeup and hair done.
Shirin Farhad' is a romantic tale of an unmarried couple who feel they can live together forever. Having crossed the marriageable age, what happens to them forms the crux of the story. The movie has several comic sequences with an emotional touch to it.
I always say a film should be given breathing space.
In 'Shirin Farhad' I play the character of a Parsi woman. Though I was born a Parsi, in a Parsi family, I don't have the right accent.
The climax of 'Johny Mera Naa,' it's one of the best climaxes ever written, ever directed. If I ever wanted to remake a movie, I'd try to do this one, just for the climax.
In 'Purab Aur Paschim,' there's one of the nicer patriotic scenes which is patriotic without going jingoistic. There's a scene set in a rotating restaurant, where Pran, who has left India, is completely running India down and Manoj Kumar is taking up for India. And there's that song 'Jab Zero Diya.'
I am happy judging shows and making films. It is a good thing to do a film and then take up a show, considering it also keeps your popularity alive.
Manmohan Desai's films pack a lot of joy and have a child-like quality and you can see the director is having fun, but my movies don't suspend disbelief that much. But it's good to be compared to Manmohan Desai. He was run down by critics in his time.
I would love to make a sarcastic film; I am so sarcastic that even my kids are now getting used to my sarcasm. You see it a lot in British comedy because that's their sense of humour.
I make commercial films only. I don't make small, boring films.
I never thought 'Mein Hoon Na' will do so well in Pakistan. Whenever I meet Pakistanis in London or the U.S., they have so much love and affection for me because of 'Mein Hoon Na,' which was my most criticised film in India.
I don't care for jewellery and fancy clothes.
Personally, I love being a mother the most. I dream of taking holidays with my three kids. I want to take my kids to beaches, gardens, the farm, malls everywhere.
Professionally, I like doing one thing at a time and enjoy directing the most.
I have to be someone; maybe I'm just doing it for my father. When I made a movie, it had to be a hit because when he died, he was a flop director.
I'm not promiscuous by nature.
The idea of directing my own movie is definitely more challenging than choreography.
