As a contemporary Indian woman who has been handling so many things, I think she can be a very strong woman, a very strong working woman. We need more and more working women in our country.

Once you are a parent, everything takes a back seat. It ceases to be a role. It is a reality. Once I had Ranveer, I realised that I was cracking under the pressure and that I cannot be a superwoman. I had to open myself to learning.

Until Ranveer was born in August 2005, three years into our marriage, I was working in Hindi or South Indian films. After marriage, I began learning how to run a house. My mother wanted to teach me the basics, but I was never home. So when my mother-in-law taught me chores, it was hard to adjust.

Time management is surely the most critical aspect of acing multiple arenas: home, work, and family.

Once you have heard a strange audience burst into laughter at a film you directed, you realize what the word joy is all about.

When you write really good lyrics - and sometimes I did! - they are just a joy to sing.

Holy Joy were a cult '80s band led by the wonderful songwriting genius that is Johny Brown.

I want to remind people of the great and profound joy that can be found in stories, and that stories can connect us to each other, and that reading together changes everybody involved.