As I look back and connect the dots, all I want to do is go back and hug my scared young self, who took a lot of steps out of impulse not knowing what will happen. So many nights of disappointment, so many others of being disillusioned where I would have just gone ahead and quit it all - I still do not know what kept me hanging in there.

Some independent Indian films do so well at these festivals in Europe and in the United States that when they come back, India just cannot ignore them.

I was very shy as a kid, but films fascinated me a lot. I think every North Indian kid wants to grow up to become an actor at some point. I hail from a small village in Punjab.

We all do role-play. Sometimes behind the camera, and sometimes in front of it. I am the few lucky ones who have been able to wear both hats and especially have been able to romance the camera in a believable way, and I hope that this romance between us never ends.