I am not ashamed of anything - not my past, not my affairs, not my body, and most definitely not my desire.

I don't find anything upsetting or gross or degrading about fighting with a mental illness: Bipolar or Schizophrenia.

I really don't want to be known as a fashionista. I'd like to be someone more than that.

It's not like what I do or what I wear is my copyright. What I'm wearing now also is an inspiration. It is how I saw it on the mannequin, and I just wore it, so it's in a way copied. But obviously, I wouldn't want to spend my life thinking about dresses. It is such a waste of life.

I think the rejection - if it's taken in the right spirit, it can make you a better person. And I think that is what I've always striven for. If one thing didn't work out, a project or anything, it doesn't mean that I lose my own confidence. In fact, I give myself a lot more confidence and opportunities.

They will always assume that this guy - an upcoming actor, what if he becomes a star tomorrow? He would not work with me then... so I might as well choose to be nice. But women are not treated with the same attitude. Women they treat really badly.

A lot of my friends are getting married, but I don't think that is what I need. I am under no such pressure that if everybody is having a boyfriend, I too should have one.

In India, it's a matter of fact that a girl child is seen as a liability. Probably the only expectation is that you grow up to a presentable young woman who can get a decent spouse.

My parents gave me the easy option that if you're going to go your way, that's the highway. You can expect no funds and no support, which I think was legitimate; that was a fair option.

I liked the fact that my father had a lot of expectations from my brother. I probably wanted to be that person who he could be proud of.

In my film 'Queen', there was a funny moment with the bra. My director called and said they are blurring the bra. They said it is vulgar. Our director was furious about it. We are artistes... We see props as they are. A woman's bra is not a danger to the society.

Image means a lot. It is everything in the business that we are in.

The kind of roles which you get, people identify with your roles, and it then leads to the kind of brands you get.

It is true that some people are interested in the buying part of things... They want to buy everything from the movie reviews to the media net to the opinions and so on.

Tone matters more than words.

When you are romancing a woman in a relationship, it should be poetic. It should have layers.

All beautiful things in this world are because of women.

Women empowerment does not mean you create complex among men. Then it will take 20 more years to empower men. It is all about evolving as a soul, as a human being. It does not mean that you become a sexist.

Nobody is like Tanuja Trivedi in this whole world.

There is a huge gap between the remuneration of an actor and actress.

Male actors get into production, share profit, and they don't take money at times but are involved in some capacity which is economical and resourceful. These things suit them; as they have made a place for themselves, they have command over the box office.

It's very hard to live in an environment where you're reminded, constantly told that your existence just happens to be here... That you are not meant to be here.

From my side, there was no acceptance to this fact that I am any less than anyone around me. So there was a certain discomfort that I felt growing up that I am not seen as I want to be seen as.

As it is, relationships are difficult, aren't they?

Physically, it is very demanding as an actor, and I don't want to put a lot of focus on that, but I think it is emotionally and mentally a lot more... It can completely twist you... We abandon ourselves for days and months, and by the end of it, we are twisted people which you make fun of.

When I did these psychological characters like the drug addicts, the ones who were rejected and dejected, I started to feel a sort of melancholia which was very unnatural for me to have at a teenage. Then I avoided those characters.

As a boy, I was known for reciting whole songs after one listen. I've always had a good memory for lyrics. It's weird because I don't have a good memory for other things. I remember lyrics easier than the shopping list.

I'm a thinker as much as I'm a talker.

Reggae was always playing at home in East Ham when I was growing up. Loud music would be coming from the bedroom, and downstairs all you'd hear was the bass. My uncles had sound systems and we used to go to Jamaica a lot as a family.

Lyrics came quite easy early on in my career. But I always wanted to push it further and stand out a bit more. We were coming from the garage era when lyrics were simplified, purposefully, to work in the club environment. They were about hyping up a crowd or bigging up a DJ. Moving into grime, our lyrics became more in-depth.

The Wire' was from a police perspective - in terms of the streets and that, it was probably like, thirty per cent. 'Top Boy' is really from the perspective of the quote-unquote criminal. It's getting into the mind of these people and why they do what they do. It's bigger than just 'Woke up and wanted to be bad one day.'

I don't agree with any form of butler, so definitely not a robot one. It's lazy, so a bad idea.

You know, I was going to be a footballer at one stage, but... nah.

I would go to college and people would know me from the rave they went to at the weekend. So I would get a bit of respect. But I would always go to class and do my work. My mother made sure of that.

Biggie has definitely stood the test of time. He's the reason Jay-Z and loads of other rappers are who they are. His flow and wordplay is brilliant - the stories he would tell are just nuts.

Everybody has flaws, and every country has flaws. But you can still love something even though you know it's been so wrong before, and sometimes is now, and probably will be again.

Drake can do that well, he can have the hottest tune every summer for the next 20 years, and that's how he does his things. But naaaaah, I might go away for three years, you know what I mean?

I'm laid-back. Sometimes, I think being laid-back will be my downfall; I'm a little too good at sitting on the sofa and doing nothing. But what can I say? It's who I am, how I am, how I've always been.

I do feel that it's very important to see positive imagery.

Jermaine Defoe was from my area. Rio Ferdinand used to come into my barbershop.

I've got a friend who went to jail in 2004 just before my first album came out. I'm on TV, and they're inside, looking at me like I'm 50 Cent. They think I'm killing it, earning mad dough every day. I'm sending him trainers and that, but it's not enough, because he thinks I should be doing more.

I think great art poses questions and doesn't necessarily give answers and solutions - that's not what I'm trying to do.

I can't say that I am not driven by success or have a fear of being successful. But for me, the ultimate thing is just about being good at what I do. Because if I made an album that I didn't really like and it was super successful then I wouldn't happy within. That's the kind of person I am.

That is part of the problem, that lack of belief in yourself because you don't see success around you. I guess that breeds defeatism, so yes there does need to be resources out there and support that will nurture talent that I believe is there, and passion that I know is there.

Grime don't mean nothing, we never called it grime. It's just a word someone associated with us. I wouldn't say all my music's grimy.

I recorded my first song at 15. But I started rhyming a few years before that. At first it was trading lyrics at school. We'd get in a circle in the playground with a beat-boxer and spit rhymes. Then it would turn into a big gathering after school.

Grime, in particular, is not really about pirate radio and local raves on top of pubs anymore. There are things I miss about those times but as an up-and-coming MC, back then, I would have loved to have had SoundCloud and YouTube and all these platforms to promote my music.

Starting out, when I was on pirate radio, or even around 2005 when I was supporting Mike Skinner at Brixton Academy, I never really saw myself being able to play my own show there.

Personally, I enjoyed school as much as the next kid. I was into art and every sport going from football to table tennis, so I kept busy. I never bunked a day off and left with 9 GCSEs, if I remember correctly.

I would continue to try to make songs how I did at the start. Wherever that be, like in your bedroom or coming up with ideas on the bus, as you grow that's gonna change. Sometimes it can get forced.