One girl used to call me Brownie and tell me to go back to my own country. At lunch, I'd get a bag of chips from the vending machine and eat it in the storage room so I wouldn't have to see her.
I like bad boys, and I like to take them home to my mom.
Generalizing a type of people is really primitive.
When I was 13, I would come visit my aunt and uncle in New York. I decided I wanted to live with them after seeing my cousin's school. Honestly, I just wanted to go to a school where I didn't have to wear uniforms, and my mom said okay.
I never thought I am a stylish. For me, style is always a representation of what you want to wear but doing it in a unique way and expressing yourself. Every girl loves to be stylish.
You need to feel comfortable. When you're comfortable, you feel confident. And when you're confident, the world is your oyster. Most important, you gotta feel what you wear.
If two of your films don't do well, people say you're out in the cold and your career is over. One film does well, and you've had the best year of your life! I don't believe in all that's written.
As a musician, I know that it'll take time for me to get to the ranks of an established artiste. Nevertheless, I'm very happy that people are appreciating my music.
I wasn't even prepared to be an actress. I was 17 when I came out of high school, and suddenly became Miss World and then I became an actress.
I live cinema and passionately love music, and my efforts in both these crafts are unfolding.
I owe 90 per cent of my life to people because I am a public figure, but 10 per cent is private to me. And I am not saying it in a defensive way. I feel my life has been made into a TV serial.
I was very sure I did not want to be the stereotype of what Indian people are seen as, which is Bollywood and henna. That's all great! It's what we are, and I love it. I love saris; I love music. I love henna; I love dancing, but that's not all we are.
Stardom should be a discovery. You don't hammer it onto people's heads. You don't demand it. You command it.
When I was in school, you never saw anyone who looked like us that was on TV. And that was really weird for me because there's so many people of South Asian descent in America - in the world.
Art should not be bound by barriers or language. The Hindi film industry is a testament to that. We speak only Hindi, but we premiere in Germany and Japan. Our films do phenomenally well there. We transcend the barriers of language and culture. We welcome you in. I think that's what art should be, and I hope America reaches that place.
I am a little - I won't say arrogant - self-assured.
I'm not even Indian-American: I'm Indian-Indian. Everybody expected me to have henna and a nose pin and talk in an accent like Apu from 'The Simpsons.' I was nervous because I wasn't sure if America was ready for a lead that looked like me.
I have never had a plan when it comes to my career: America came to me with an opportunity.
After I won Miss India, I realised I do not like failing. I just like being the best. I hate being a loser. So I just have to keep winning.
I'm trying to be global and trying to push us, as a society, to becoming colorblind, and so I'm very grateful to ABC for casting me in 'Quantico.' It was based on my merit, not on my ethnicity.
