Ali Fazal

Mahesh Bhatt has changed me a lot. I used to be very held back with my words. He has made me open up. He has taught me how to say what comes to my mind, just as he does.

Movies have been great, but theatre is home. I've never been able to compare the two because they are different, special worlds. I'm just lucky to have a place in both.

Now, there doesn't have to necessarily be a white man in the lead role. That's the way forward. That's diversity. It's cool if an Indian is playing the lead role in a Hollywood project, and we should be proud of this.

Theatre gives me a different high.

It's horrible when actors say that they are apolitical.

In Bollywood, we are told exactly what to do and how to do it and not to counter things by saying there's a better way. We make our actors feel important by paying them more. But the real deal is when you let the actors take some decisions on the sets.

I think sometimes a part requires more than one approach or thought.

I have stepped into a bigger league with 'Khamoshiyaan,' and I am grateful to Mahesh Bhatt sir. I am also grateful to myself for being patient.

Judi Dench, apart from the name and fame, is the most genuinely hilarious, sophisticated, and loving person I have known. And I mean all of that together at once. That's something.

Goa isn't just about tourism and happy faces.

Hollywood has realised that we do have actors and are not just mad about song and dance.

One has to get rid of his inhibitions, being an actor.