'Cobra Clutch' was to let the world know we ain't going nowhere. We got the game in the cobra clutch.

I don't want fans anymore, because the definition of a fan is a fanatic. The people who buy my product and ride with me are my supporters, not fanatics.

My family had a lot to do with 'My Infamous Life.' They were the inspiration behind me starting to write. I had an interesting family life dating way back, and they did a lot in their lifetime.

Actually doing a song, going to the studio, and just getting out on paper your anger makes you feel a little better sometimes.

Nas is like King Queensbridge: he's the man out there.

To me, I got a bunch of haters. Mobb Deep - and Prodigy, speaking for myself - I got a bunch of haters.

Just having conversations with God, begging God to make the pain go away, and then the pain wouldn't go away. So I'm like 'Who the hell am I talking to? God is not responding.'

Going to jail is beyond what anyone thinks it is.

We'll never change the fact that we are hardcore hip-hop and we make rebellious hip-hop music, and we're going to keep doing that and progress with our production, progress with our lyrical styles, be creative, and just have fun with it.

You can never go back to a time and try to recreate that sound, because that time is done.

Anything that Havoc or I do is always going to point back to Mobb Deep.

You have people there from all walks of life: people who made mistakes and have to deal with the consequences, mothers and fathers. You wouldn't expect them to be behind bars.

That's what 'Hell On Earth' was about: we felt that we were living in hell.

I think the sound of 'The Infamous' came naturally from our lifestyle and some of the criminal things we were doing. We always rap about what we're living, and to put a beat to lyrics like those is hard.

If you look at my rap sheet, it's very long.

I couldn't afford to get sick in prison. My sickle cell is no joke, so I couldn't eat poorly or not exercise. And everything in jail is designed to do the exact opposite.

I was barely 17 when our father decided to part ways with my mother.

There is a host of directors - Sujoy Ghosh, Neeraj Pandey, Ashutosh Gowariker, Madhur Bhandarkar, Mani Ratnam and so on - who make some great cinema. I would like to work with them all.

As children we had traveled only in cars and led a lavish lifestyle. After father and we parted ways, we had little money to afford even petrol; I used to travel to the Tollygunge studios in the south of the city from our Dumdum home in the north by bus. I would do any role that came my way: hero's friend, or brother, or son, just about anything.

Cinematically, anything like 'Khawto' in Bengali cinema hasn't happened. Yes, you get such films in Hollywood, a few in Bombay. In Bengali literature, you get such stories in the works of Samaresh Basu and Buddhadeb Guha.

Everyone has their own way of telling stories.

Everywhere I go today, people talk about Bengali cinema. I completely refuse to accept that Bengali filmmakers are not making good films.

With excessive digitisation, now, everyone is making films, which is good, but the makers think that they will quickly make films in digital and bag satellite rights but television channels buy satellite rights of notable films only. If we made fewer films a year, percentage of hits would be better.

When I started my career, I was faced with a challenge of making my own identity.

I am open to do a Telugu, Tamil or Malayali movie. If I get a good script and good character, I will surely do it.

I'm comfortable in my life.

There were times when 22 of my films would release in a year.

Ask anyone in the industry if Bumbada is accessible. A technical hand can call me at 2 A.M. and I will be there to help him.

Technology is a very important part of cinema.

I love KIFF. No one can stop me from being a part of it. I have always watched good movies there. Earlier on, that was the only space to watch good cinema.

I am a person who believes in giving due respect to everyone.

I came to know about my father joining BJP through the media.

We lack good film scriptwriters. People like Anjan Chowdhury who could develop scripts of pure entertainers are quite difficult to find now. There are obviously some exceptions like Padmanabha Dasgupta. But how many scripts can one single Padmanabha Dasgupta churn out!

Star Theatre in Shyambazar makes up a big chapter in my life. I worked there for three years during my struggling days.

Shyambazar evokes a strong sense of nostalgia in me. There's not a theatre in that area where I haven't watched a movie. I also have fond memories of going grocery-shopping at Grey Street with my grandparents.

A handsome period of my childhood was spent at our house in Tollygunge.

It is an honour to conduct a masterclass at IFFI.

When a director is remaking a film, he should tweak it, add Bengali sentiments to it and make it look like a regional movie. A copy-paste job is something I don't support at all.

Praktan' saw stupendous success in Bengal, can it not be remade in Hindi? It sure can.

I want to urge filmmakers in Bengal to choose a subject and mount the film in a way that there's a Bengali connect. They must not fall into the typical remake pattern.

To portray a singer who gets on stage at night, who is away from the limelight, is never an easy task.

All my life, Sundays have been a working day.

If get an off on a Sunday, I try to keep my script-readings, meet my directors, plan film releases.

I go to bed very late. I usually stay up till 2:30 A.M. but am up by seven in the morning.

If the entire product is good, then no matter what the language of the film is, people will love it.

Earlier, people used to say no to regional films, but now people all over the world have started watching Bengali cinema.

Sankhachil' did not have a script, to begin with. It was just a thought.

My audiences are giving me awards every day.

I watch all kinds of Indian cinema. There are many good films in Bengali, Marathi and Malayalam.

After 20 years and 250 mainstream films, I thought I should have in my library at least 50 films, films that will be talked about when I am no more.