When an actor gets an opportunity to do things, only then can he prove his mettle.

We have had examples in our industry of people working for 30-40 years because of their ability to act. Your looks leave you after a point, you don't look the same way you did when you were in your 20s or 30s. After that you have only your ability to show.

There are millions of people in the world, I have only played a few of them.

I enjoy playing different kind of people.

In theatre there is a certain discipline that you have to follow, and you have to be experienced to be performing in front of a live audience. It is satisfying to me.

I wanted to understand the whole medium and that is when I decided to do television. Once I thought that, I was confident about making a film.

As far as I am concerned the best thing that any person can have, and which I think my son has, is commitment to work and also the attitude towards it.

Living my early years in Ludhiana, the Halwara base of the Indian Air Force was very close to our house. I would see jets cruise over my head.

Women do have better roles to play, more characters are being written. For instance, Surpriya Pathak's character in 'Ram Leela' or Neena Gupta's part in 'Badhaai Ho'.'

Different kind of cinema is being created, people are coming up with different kind of scripts, they are able to come up with scripts that work with the audiences and also scripts which will have something to say to the audience, which is a heart-warming thing.

We've not given any attention to the people in their 50s and 60s, who need attention, education and engagement, in terms of the society and in terms of their identity as human beings.

The least anyone can do is pay attention to their parents and people who are elder to them.

Creativity should be balanced with commercial interests.

When you ask me why I do one film a year, it is not my fault. I've chosen what I liked from whatever work came my way.

I have loved playing every character that I essayed.

I don't think that a film that has children in it necessarily needs to be a children's film.

I feel you need to treat children as equals instead of giving them a complex - you are young, you are small, you don't know.'

I've been saying yes to almost every interesting script that comes my way.

As long as the character is interesting and I have something to do as an actor, there is no reason to turn it down.

I don't want to do films where I'm just there with nothing much to do.

There have been actors who have been extremely successful by doing just about everything that came their way. But I do what I like doing and give it a certain time.

I am not a person of schedule when it comes to writing.

My children can do what they want to do.

I did drama school in Delhi. I am glad I studied in a school where cultural activities were significant.

Delhi is where I began practising theatre, it is always special to perform in the capital.

While pursuing engineering, my passion for theatre grew. So, I told dad I wanted to pursue acting - 'Do you really want to be an actor or are you drawn to the glamour?' he asked. I convinced him of my passion and applied to film schools.

In the 80s, parallel cinema gained momentum. So, I got back to films and won National awards for Maqbool' and other films.

It wasn't one film that changed my life, but a series of decisions that brought out the best in me.

So, 50 films, 3 National Awards, 74 plays and serials later, here I am playing Professor Das in JL50,' who understands time travel. When in reality, I'm not tech savvy at all.

I was looking to play different characters, and films didn't offer many choices.

I became a writer out of the desire to express myself.

If offered a good role, I would like to work in a good Punjabi film. This land has produced great writers, poets and actors.

Television has been a powerful medium and it has been a huge part of my life at least 15 years.

I think younger generation is much smarter than us. I am happy and proud of my kids.

I believe your children should work on their own and make a name for themselves. By doing this they become confident. My parents did this with me and I tried to do the same with my children.

My first love and my first instinct are acting.

As a kid I wanted to be a pilot.

My real uncle was a pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF). I was very enamored with him because he had a great personality. He used to look dashing in his uniform.

The Urdu or Hindustani language we use isn't popular in theatre these days. It was a language that was being used in cinema from the 1950s until the '80s. It is a very communicative language.

The desire to hear a story, and a story well told, triumphs over Internet, film and television sometimes.

I was required to jump from a parachute into a lake and for this I was dangled in the air 100 feet above the ground with the help of a harness. It was scary in the beginning as I had never attempted such a thing before.

From the initial days of my career I have always given importance to two things. One is to heed to directors instructions and the other is to have faith on my action director.

Seventy years on, the wound of Partition is still raw. There have been some beautiful attempts like Garam Hava,' but it's not easy to make a film without hurting some sentiments.

I have been fortunate to get different types of work, but by and large till 90s for actors like me there were not many opportunities besides playing brother of the heroine or friend of the hero or young college villain after the earlier new wave was consumed by television.

We compare everything with what is being done in the West. Even the film reviews are written like that. It is sad because we are trying to belittle ourselves.

If you have to make a story in 10 rupees or you know that at this stage you can get only 10 rupees then you cut down on your expenses. But when one has made four-five films one likes to broaden the horizons.

I might not do it again and again, but I would like to test waters which are considered forbidden for me. It is a human tendency.

'Mausam' is about seasons of love and not exactly about the weather.

When you get confidence from your director, as an actor, it is all a matter of how your director says, 'This is how much I can get out of you.'

There is a perception that I do certain kind of films. That's not true. I am open to any good scripts with a good role.