I tend to do things that I'm very frightened of. That's what I do.

I have a feeling I will work for a long, long time. I like it a lot... and I don't know. I just have a feeling that I'm going to be one of those people who go on for ever.

Men don't fall in love with me - only young ones.

If you make a film about a pig farmer in Wales and you are a huge hit as the pig farmer's wife, the next thing is you'll be asked to do a film about a sheep farmer in Scotland.

I find it difficult to explain, but I'm quite ashamed of being an actress.

Seeing The English Patient is wonderfully draining, but imagine acting in it for six months.

Making films can be absolutely fantastic, but it can also be incredibly dull. You spend the whole day sitting by yourself in your trailer and then you get called to deliver one sentence - then you're told to come back and do it again at 5:30 the following morning.

I mean, if you're being directed very precisely by somebody who has admiration and who's really smart, it's great. If you're being told what to do by a nincompoop - and luckily that hasn't happened very often - it can be very frustrating.

I'm not at all fed up with British films, but I am fed up with playing upper-class people.

The parts I've been most successful in are the ones I've desperately, desperately wanted.

I think I'm inspired mostly by other artists that aren't actors, like writers or singers or artists, for being so brave.

I never go straight to the point if I can go the most difficult way. Why be simple when you can be complicated?

People are always saying, English, English, English rose, and I just feel so completely different.

Most films seem to be about a man and a women falling in love at some point and once you pass forty-five, it's almost disgusting to fall in love.

People accuse me of being Methody, but I'm not at all. The one thing I don't want people to see is me. I don't want them to be able to recognize my faults and failures and qualities, and I won't use those things to spark off emotions or to illustrate.

As actors, we're always asked to portray and react to these extreme circumstances, otherwise it's not interesting. They are agonizing things to think about.

I was happy, I wasn't beaten, and I lacked nothing. But it wasn't what people expect - it was very much sort of pinching and scraping. I don't know how my mother did it.

I just get so fed up with seeing the same things written about me. If I see the words 'ice queen' attached to me, I feel like banging my head against the wall. There's this perception that I can only be in a film if I have a glass of champagne in my hand and a stately home in the background.

At school, I always wanted to belong to a gang, and no one would have me. So I'd have make my own gang, but with everybody else's leftovers.

When you make a film, you sign a contract with somebody, and it's not only legally binding but morally binding. You agree to give this man a certain number of weeks of your life, and you just go for it as much as possible. Because, whatever happens, the film is going to come out, so you might as well try very hard to make it a good one.

I find it very difficult to be two different characters at the same time - actress and mother.

It takes a long time to appreciate one's parents.

I was terrible at school.

I'm very lazy!

I'm a late developer.

My children are lovely. They're perfect.

I want to be famous. That's my ambition, and there is nothing wrong with it.

It was nothing less than a dream come true shooting with Farah Khan.

Direction is always on my wish list.

In the South, there is a celebrated Telugu film director name Raghavendra Rao, who is known for shooting women's mid-riff in a certain manner. They are done in a very aesthetic manner and doesn't look vulgar. Now, it is up to the audience how they are going to watch it. As long as the girl is comfortable acting in it, I see nothing wrong.

The challenge is when you're offered similar roles, and you have to play them differently. I don't want people to say, 'She performs similarly in every film. There is no versatility.'

I will not leave my South films for a Hindi film. I want to be sincere to my South film makers and commitments. Only if my dates are not clashing with any of my South films will I do Hindi films.

I feel that bad people exist everywhere. I've always maintained that it is not the industry that is good or bad: it's the people.

It's a hugely popular franchise, and every 'Housefull' film has worked well at the box office.

I feel like, for an actor, eyes are the most important thing. So I'm a little obsessed with eye creams.

People don't come to the theatres to watch a kiss. It's the story that appeals to them.

I want people to take me seriously as an actor. I want to be a star; I won't deny that.

Ideally, as an actor, we all crave attention, appreciation, and to be recognised. What's the point of doing it yourself? It needs to come from someone else, and when that happens, I enjoy that moment.

I'm a loner, and I'm most comfortable living by myself, but Bengaluru is home for me, as my family is there. Having said that, once you come to Mumbai, you can't turn your back on it. I've grown close to Mumbai now.

I think comedy is something I enjoy, so it comes effortlessly.

I'm a director's actor and go by what they say.

Even if you sulk after a failure, you have to put on that exterior that you are fine. You could be going through a series of nonsense in your personal life or failure in your professional life, but you have to put on that exterior.

When I started playing tennis in Class V, I used to be the only girl on the court along with 20-odd boys. So, I am used to being in the company of boys. In fact, I have very few girlfriends, and even my besties are boys; I find it much easier to get along with them.

I want to be as healthy as I possibly can be. I just want to make sure that I do everything to take care of myself. Like they say, charity begins at home. Love begins at home, too. So I want to do the best for me. I want to pamper myself and do the best for my body.

I think that Delhi Metro has made things convenient for people, and we must credit the government for that. The Metro network that they have built in the city without disturbing any infrastructure is amazing.

I think objectifying women is not wrong if only her beauty is captured in an aesthetic manner.

Today, there is not one Hindi movie which doesn't have a kissing scene.

Initially, I was scared of living alone in a big city like Mumbai, which is nothing like Bangalore. I'm more comfortable now; it feels like a home away from home.

As a kid, the only time I used to get out at night when I was in 9th and 10th standard. The only time I had permission to go out at night was during Navratri because we all used to go play dandiya and garba.

I miss Mumbai when I'm not here. The city does that to you, and it's exciting.