I had to let go of many things because we did not have much money growing up. Like joining the Film Institute in Pune or learning the piano.

I've always been told that because of 'Main Hoon Na,' a lot of female filmmakers have come up but I maintain that direction is a ‘genderless' job."

For me feminism is equality.

It is really a sad state of affairs if I am still the only commercially successful woman director. We need a lot more commercially viable women, not only in direction.

We have a family dynamic - more like brothers and sisters than friends. So there can be a bit of competition, but there's also love and respect. But there's a thing to not push each other's buttons. You know what the buttons are, so don't push them.

I'd been very certain about not wanting to do the acting thing because of my father. I thought I'd always have the father-son thing of 'He got you the part.'

I grew up in a big Irish, Catholic family. My dad was a pretty rough guy. So one of my brothers left home when he was 15 and found his way to the gym. It gave me the opportunity to go and spend some time with him and work out in the gym.

I am Gabrielle Anwar: mother, lover, daughter, sister, friend, and creator in the pursuit of happiness.