Being good or evil has nothing to do with religion.
— Naseeruddin Shah
An actor can never voice his opinion through films. All an actor does is convey what the director and writer want to say. You are a mouthpiece of their ideas. Your ideas reflect only in your choice of movies.
No actor can give his best performance without the help of the director.
I don't take reviews seriously. I don't even read them. Who is this person blasting forth his opinion? What's his worth, and how different is he from any man on the street?
My agent wanted me to audition for Dumbledore's character after Richard Harris died. I was asked if I would like to audition for it. But I wouldn't audition for it.
I feel that cinema can't change society or bring a revolution. I'm also not sure of cinema as a medium of education. Documentaries can be educative, not feature films.
Unfortunately, in our country, crying is mistaken for good acting.
When my brother came home from NDA (National Defence Academy), I felt, 'Wow, I should like to wear that uniform.' But I didn't want to join the army.
I am hard put to think of a single positive thing that commercial Hindi cinema has achieved.
Playing the good guy is boring. I love twisted, flawed characters.
I am from a place called Sardhana, which is near Meerut.
Somehow, Hindi movies never took me in the same way Hollywood films did. Even at the age of five or six, I could see the difference in the quality of execution.
Finally, I have realised that it is important to look good.
People think I am joking when I say my favourite actors are Shammi Kapoor and Dara Singh.
I was lucky to land up in Mumbai when serious cinema was just beginning to flower.
I am the king of old school romance.
I have the highest regard for the police forces.
Nobody can send me to Pakistan. India is my country, and I love my country. Five generations of my family have lived and died on this land, and even my children will live in this country because this is my homeland.
Acting is fun, but directing is very stressful.
It would be impossible to find an actor to portray Om Puri, so I wouldn't even attempt it.
In theatre, there is a unique feeling of everyone working as a team, which you never get in films.
I am totally for first timers. I always hear them seriously. I have done so many films with first timers, and I've never regretted it.
The only serious function films can serve is to act as a record of their times.
The film industry does not interest me greatly. The people, I don't mingle with them much. I meet them when I have to.
Don't opt for acting as an escape from education.
I have had enough of an interesting life to not embellish it in any way.
Shakespeare is a seminal story-teller. I don't think he imagined he was writing classics or that he was writing great poetry. I don't think he dreamt his work would be staged 400 years after he died.
I've always found people with physical disabilities interesting to watch: how the dynamics of their body work, what makes them move this way or that.
My dad occupied a government position, deputy collector, in a city called Nainital, so we had access to the cinemas at any time. I saw my first movies when I was very young.
'Bombay Boys' is among my favourite movies and my favourite performance of myself.
When I see an emotion being enacted by a great actor, I always feel I can never do that.
A person takes his own path. My father tried to guide me the best way he thought I should go, and it didn't work. I went the way I wanted to.
I had decided never to dye my hair because by doing that, it doesn't make a man look young. In fact, I feel the wrinkles on a man's face become more prominent when you dye your hair.
I can say with pride that I have a brother who served with distinction in the Indian Army.
If I criticize my country, it is indeed very painful for me. It doesn't make me happy. But, if I see something wrong, it becomes my duty to speak up.
It is always a pleasure to be directed by an actor because they know the scene from the actor's perspective, too. That's an advantage.
I don't look at my work as an avenue for generating more work. For me, my work itself is sufficient.
I am never comfortable working with stars.
People should know what the India of 2018 was like. They shouldn't end up seeing only Salman Khan films 200 years later. India is not like that.
It's completely beyond comprehension that you just can't say anything without offending somebody or the other.
Film industry people don't read books.
I don't think cinema has the power to change anybody's life.
I do enjoy thinking about the past.
'Macbeth,' I am ambivalent about. I don't like that play, in fact.
What drew me into being an actor was that I never got cast in the school plays - and it used to kill me.
I have gone into every project with the same enthusiasm and the same hope, but some have worked out, and some haven't.
There are some movies that you feel like doing because of the script. Some because it sounds like fun, some because that's the director you want to work with, some because it's a project that you want to be involved with, and some because you will be paid lots of money. But the bottom line is I must feel like doing it.
One would marvel on the screen the way Shammi Kapoor walked, Dilip Kumar cried, or seeing Dev Anand's style. And then, one day, you are in the same space with them. It's very unreal.
I had many doubts while writing my autobiography. I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested to read about my life.
I feel anxious for my children because tomorrow, if a mob surrounds them and asks, 'Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?' they will have no answer.
