Even with a big budget, you can make a niche film.

I don't care for jewellery and fancy clothes.

In 'Purab Aur Paschim,' there's one of the nicer patriotic scenes which is patriotic without going jingoistic. There's a scene set in a rotating restaurant, where Pran, who has left India, is completely running India down and Manoj Kumar is taking up for India. And there's that song 'Jab Zero Diya.'

I make aesthetic movies which are grand and with some of the biggest stars. It's not fair to run them down. I don't make tacky films.

It is an extremely difficult task to make an entertaining movie, which is completely aesthetic and you can watch again and again.

I make commercial films only. I don't make small, boring films.

I always say a film should be given breathing space.

I never thought 'Mein Hoon Na' will do so well in Pakistan. Whenever I meet Pakistanis in London or the U.S., they have so much love and affection for me because of 'Mein Hoon Na,' which was my most criticised film in India.

Cinema, art and culture should definitely be shared. These things transcend borders.

Professionally, I like doing one thing at a time and enjoy directing the most.

The stars that I've worked with started their careers almost at the same time as me. Whether it is Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan or Salman Khan.

I'm not promiscuous by nature.

The idea of directing my own movie is definitely more challenging than choreography.

I was chosen over British and French choreographers to work on 'Bombay Dreams.'

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.

Somewhere my dad gave up. He was really so successful at his level that after a point he could not handle failure.

Giving birth to triplets at the age of forty-three is no walk in the park, but I had little choice. I got married at the young age of forty, and both my husband, Shirish, and I were keen to start a family soon.

God bless IVF because it's never too late to conceive any more. However, having said that, I have to point out that going through IVF is a gruelling procedure; maybe that's why only a woman can go through it!

IVF is a wonderful thing. One has to ignore the injections as the reality is that nobody is going to invent a pill that you can take to get a baby.

Before I had my babies, I would tend to be self-absorbed, and worry about little things, but now I am a changed person.

For me feminism is equality.

I always say that cinema reflects life, not the other way round.

When I see a lot of the big Hollywood movies, I see they are all financed by Indian studios.

I'd taken 'Om Shanti Om' to Japan and they loved it because they just love the not holding back of emotions.

I have fully retired as a choreographer. I do not have the patience now to make actors learn their steps. For me, that ship has sailed. I have enjoyed 22 years of it.

The climax of 'Johny Mera Naa,' it's one of the best climaxes ever written, ever directed. If I ever wanted to remake a movie, I'd try to do this one, just for the climax.

The best moment in 'Masoom' comes when the boy tells him that he knows he's his father.

Women directors in India have mostly made niche films. Naturally, those films have a limited market.

My experience in Bollywood has been this: You work hard, you deliver, and nobody finds fault with you.

You are punished only when you are not performing as per expectation, and not because you belong to a particular religion, caste, or creed. Here, you fail because your vision is not right or you have not worked hard. That's why I believe we have true democracy in the film industry. How I wish the rest of the country was like the industry!

Luckily, filmmaking is not a nine-to-five job.

I don't neglect my kids. They are my priority. They come on shoots.

I am not an actress.

Later in life there should not be any regrets. Sometimes you have children too early and regret it, ‘If I wouldn't have, my career would have been different' and sometimes when you don't have, you miss that opportunity.

Even as one of the best choreographers in the country, I was criticised for a lot of things I have done in life.

Whenever I visit abroad, people recognise me - it feels great.

People don't wish to watch masala films of the '50s any more. Audiences do not want loud films at all. They are watching Netflix and Amazon that have fresh ideas.

Web series are the future.

I never imagined myself making these big movies and being married and having kids.

I think it is important to enjoy your work.

People tend to take themselves too seriously.

You get paid what you deserve, according to the money that your movie generates. I get much more than a lot of male directors and I also get less than some. But I get paid what I deserve and what I ask for.

I would never want to do a content-driven film with a box office life of Rs 20 crore.

I would say that all my films have more content than a ‘content-driven film.' It is not easy to make such films.

You can only make the film that's in you.

We have music playing at home, day and night.

Filmmaking is all about people management.

The most creative director I have worked with is Mani Ratnam.

When I became a choreographer, I was not assisting any choreographer. I was assisting the director Mansoor Ali Khan for 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar.' I was the fourth assistant director.

I always feel your movie will be as strong as your weakest link.