I truly believe my job is to make sure people smile.

When I think back on it, of course I got lucky and got great directors and good breaks but all that was the physical part. But what made me a star was that I could take a chance and not have anything to worry about in terms of losing.

As far as the public is concerned, India is amazingly secular.

More than an actor, I am a performer... I'm a great believer - honestly so, shamelessly so, vulgarly so - that cinema is for entertainment. If you want to send messages, there's the postal service.

Good art in general aspires to something, as a good painting aspires to something, almost spiritual or holy.

Photography is a pursuit that allows you to be very hands-on with what you show people of either yourself or the art you want to make, and acting is kind of the exact opposite. You do have a modicum of creative freedom as an actor, but you're still very much a cipher for other people's art.

I remember the first time I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and saw a Kerry James Marshall painting with black bodies in it on a museum wall... It strengthened me on a cellular level.

All the difficulties surrounding the making of 'Mars et Avril' actually fueled its creativity and contributed to its international success!