My lowest point came when I shifted to Mumbai in 1993. Nothing was happening. This is right after I did 'Bandit Queen.' I had no way to tell people that I know my job. There was no casting department here. All the commercial films that were happening in those days did not have any place for me.
Stars have always been very good at what they do. They are born and blessed with charisma and power over the entire nation. One glimpse of a star makes people go berserk. Such magic cannot be created. You are born with it - or not.
I've no problems with cuss words. All of us use them. Those who say they don't are lying. People can tolerate English cuss words but find the Hindi ones a bit revolting.
We live in a democratic country, and I take great pride in saying that I'm from India, a country where democracy is worshipped and freedom of expression is part and parcel of any person's fundamental right.
Acting is the most difficult job in the world.
Even the finest actors will have great difficulty showing somebody's loneliness. To put an actor on a chair and ask him to do nothing and yet tell the viewer everything about the character, it's a difficult task.
Films like 'Satyamev Jayate' help in getting some distributors and financiers for films like 'Gali Guleiyan' which give me a lot of satisfaction.
I have a lot of respect for PM Narendra Modi, as he works hard day and night and doesn't sleep more than 4 hours. So I am thinking of gifting him chewing gum, as he will chew that and will take rest and take care of his health.
Commercial cinema is necessary to get money, but to get respect, it's necessary to keep coming up with good content and giving a chance to the talent whose craft and skill is immaculate.
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.
Nepotism has always existed in Bollywood.
There has to be some newness in the story or, at least, some aspect of the movie. I get bored if the story is told in the same way all the time. I get bored easily.
My offbeat choices definitely don't get me too much money because they are made in a very restrained budget. We do it because we love cinema, because we are passionate about the content and new ways of storytelling.
My career has been a roller coaster ride. And every actor experiences that phase.
Struggle teaches you a lot of things, and I am happy that I witnessed a roller coaster ride. The journey has improved me as a person and made me more mature.
After 'Satya,' the industry could not think of me as anything but the villain. They were stereotyping me on the basis of my looks. I lost so much money refusing such roles - the purchase of a new house got delayed by seven years because I said no.
