Inspiration is God making contact with itself.

When I used to perform weddings, the image I always had was the image of a triangle, in which there are two partners and then there is this third force, this third being, that emerges out of the interaction of these two. The third one is the one that is the shared awareness that lies behind the two of them.

My belief is that I wasn't born into Judaism by accident, and so I needed to find ways to honor that.

In our Western culture, although death has come out of the closet, it is still not openly experienced or discussed. Allowing dying to be so intensely present enriches both the preciousness of each moment and our detachment from it.

I can go all over the world with Skype.

In India, there's a way of seeing life as a cosmic play. It's called Lila. I can watch my life, and I can see my guru playing with me.

From a Hindu perspective, you are born as what you need to deal with, and if you just try and push it away, whatever it is, it's got you.

Each of us finds his unique vehicle for sharing with others his bit of wisdom.

The stroke has given me another way to serve people. It lets me feel more deeply the pain of others; to help them know by example that ultimately, whatever happens, no harm can come. 'Death is perfectly safe,' I like to say.

Everyone can have a crush on anyone, be it on a real person or a celebrity.

I don't believe in gratitude.

I don't have the time to think about what someone else thinks of me because I'm busy making films.

Fundamentally speaking, bodies age; feelings don't.

I have a habit of constantly dreaming and waking up every once in a while in the night to check out my cell phone, and I suddenly saw a message that Sridevi is no more... I thought that either it's a nightmare or a hoax, and I went back to sleep.

Basically, I am an anti-social person.

Great films happen, and no one can make them on intention.

I understand emotions more than anyone else. I study emotions like a biologist studies various species.

When you do anything completely different from a beaten path, many tend to pounce on you.

I'm an atheist, and I don't believe in ghosts.

Sridevi is the most beautiful and the most sensuous woman God ever created, and I think He creates such exquisite pieces of art like her only once in a thousand years.

'Rakta Charitra' was more about human conflict than politics.

I don't work with anyone out of a sense of charity. I use people as long as they are useful to me.

I hate Sridevi. I hate her for making me realise that she, too, is finally only just a human being. I hate that her heart, too, has to beat to live.

I feel that Sarkar is a realistic superman in his life.

All my movies are copies of Hollywood, some of them pretty trashy copies. All filmmakers copy from Hollywood.

I don't think cinema is big or small. It's just good or bad.

Modern warfare has become too techno-ish for my sensibilities.

I like to see women getting drenched in the rain. So to that extent, I like 'Barsaat.'

I don't think I have the patience required to undertake projects as huge as 'Baahubali.' You need to spend a lot of time and years to make something empowering like that.

I have learnt the hard way that ignoring a small fry can be many times harmful.

Everyone knows about Amitabh Bachchan being a legendary actor, and I had this sense of arrogance that I can make him do what I want. But what he did on locations completely blew me away. I realised that I understand the quality of performances even more after seeing him perform.

Following the West is not surrendering. Following the West, the best of the West, is following originality.

In Telugu, I have 'Bejawada Rowdilu,' a movie on the gang war culture in Vijayawada.

Any film I make, my intention is always to make people like it.

My favourite virtue is not having any.

Language is just a communication tool; it is the content that decides the fate of a film.

It is stupid to think the audience is a bunch of fools who can be manipulated by long titles and NRI romances.

When I have a new idea, I'm charged up and want to start the film immediately, but I simply don't have the patience to wait for stars.

I wrote 'Kshana Kshanam' with the one and only purpose of impressing Sridevi. 'Kshana Kshanam' was my love letter to her.

I don't want to answer questions about my favourite food or holiday spot.

I hate the word 'break.' It's just a business deal at the end of the day so there's no such thing as giving a break.

I like people who have clarity about their work.

To see Sridevi making tea in Boney Kapoor's kitchen was a huge letdown. I won't forgive him because he brought the angel down from heaven to the kitchen of his apartment.

Even the biggest flops have been liked by a few select people.

With 'Daud,' basically, I wanted to make a very 'Mad Max' kind of a film: that was my original intention.

'Not A Love Story' is inspired by true events, but it is not based on those events completely. When I first read about the Maria Susairaj case, I was fascinated with the psychological aspects, that two seemingly very ordinary people can go completely berserk.

I despise all those who fight for peace. It's only the bad guys and the troublemakers who create entertaining and history-changing events.

The thing about audiences is that we can't generalise them. It's very unfair.

I always had a fair share of hits and flops.

It is none of anyone's business how I make my films or my creative partnerships.