If one person from their fraternity is a little above average, they are celebrated as if they are the most gifted individuals. And who is enhancing their cause? It's a section of the media.
An actor is nothing without the vision of the director. The director needs to have a vision that will cross boundaries, that makes the audience sit on the edge of their seats and that pushes the envelope.
I am a family man. The only difference between me and others is that while they work in corporate offices, I am an actor. I, too, like to go back home after work. I don't mind stopping to pick up groceries.
I had to either get better or leave the field. I couldn't go back to my village as a failure. The only thing that occurred to me was that I would work hard and get better next year. I feel that my love for the craft has got me this far, and this love is still there.
When I came to industry, theatre persons were regarded as those people who will only ask questions and will be an annoying factor on the set, and there was no preference given to them.
Deconstructing your performance is the curse an actor has to live with. That's why I don't watch my films.
People should start appreciating films where women are at the centre.
The second child of a small farmer with six children, I come from a village in Bihar on the border of Nepal called Belwa. I was there till the age of 17 and studied in a Hindi-speaking boarding school run by Catholics in a nearby district town.
I've accepted loads of criticism and sacrificed so much money to do what I wanted to do - which, in a very small way, contributed to making things easy for my kind of actors.
Earlier films were meant only for entertainment, but now filmmakers, who are products of these times, do not compromise on real stuff. That is why storytelling has become more convincing.
The kind of films and roles I do were never in competition with any star kid. Their aspirations are completely different.
For most actors, it is the script that chooses them and not the other way around.
My father is somebody I admire and would like to be. He is a mild man and a gentleman. Even though he was from a conservative background, he was so open to my doing theatre.
I work for the director, and if audience are happy, I have gotten my award. After that, I have to move on.
That's realism: a fact that if the audiences don't move out and watch good films at the theatre, people will stop making them.
Talent alone doesn't matter in this industry, and everyone knows this. If someone says, 'Good films are done', 'Talent always survives', there are other factors, too, which are far more important.
Acting is the most difficult job in the world.
Watching an Amitabh Bachchan film in my village was a cinematic treat.
I don't think I play only serious characters.
At 50-60, people either retire or they start falling sick, but 'Swami' is a person who will always remain strong. He has lots of expectations. He wants to fulfil his dreams and is very honest. First you play a character; then you play the age.
