I'm a very shy person and find it difficult to ask for work even if I know somebody for ages.

In PhD, my topic was Stage Techniques in Sanskrit Drama - theory and practice. I wanted to combine my drama training with Sanskrit drama, which has a very rich history in literature.

It takes effort to not be lonely.

I am by and large an honest person, I have nothing to hide.

As women, we always crave for family and a loving partner and in our quest to find that happy space we overlook a lot of things.

I've evolved with time and learnt from my daughter which designers and singers are in.

Loneliness is always there, it's a phase that comes and goes and it is a very difficult phase.

I don't want to build any image for myself. I don't want people to say, 'He does only a certain type of role.' I don't want only to be the hero of the story. An actor's weakness is the different roles that he can't do. But I am keen to grab only those roles as I am here to challenge myself.

I have never thought about creating an image for myself in Bollywood. I am an actor and just want to experiment with roles. I am ready to do all type of roles.

In 'Haraamkhor,' I have explored a few things which I wouldn't have been able to do in bigger films. The process of shooting this film was so organic that it enhanced me as an actor and an artiste.

Commercial hit films such as 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan,' 'Talaash,' and 'Kick' had big superstars to sell them; that may not have been the case if it were just me.

I am quite looking forward to working with Shah Rukh Khan.

Only heroes get stereotyped. As they do the same kind of roles again and again.

I was fortunate enough to get an author-backed role in Aamir Khan starrer 'Talash.'

If I am expected to play a dancer, I will learn dancing but won't do the random, meaningless dancing.

I don't understand what A grade commercial cinema is. If you are talking about box office success, mine are A+ then!

'Freaky Ali' is not a heavy film. It's a simple but inspiring film. It will inspire those who want to go from zero to hundred. People who have made an effort to achieve success from nothing will be able to connect to the character.

Often when I feel I am reaching a saturation point in my performances, I think of coming back to NSD and attending workshops.

I was shooting for 'Kahaani' and 'GOW' back to back. I was in a village on work, where a man extended a paper to me. For a minute I thought he wanted another actor's autograph. I looked back and forth, but there was no one. That was quite an experience.

The film industry is mostly about unidimensional characters.

'Kahaani' gave me popularity and 'Gangs of Wasseypur' stardom.

At NSD, I had an amazing experience learning everything from stagecraft to western drama and Shakespeare, Maxim Gorky, Anton Chekov.

Muzaffarnagar is 40 kilometers from my village. So I used to see films if I was able to save money and on special occasions like Eid, Diwali.

I grew fond of acting rather late. And that was because I was not getting any job. I had a few friends in Delhi who were associated with theater. They took me to see some plays in Delhi and Baroda. That led me to believe the I could also act. And it was after that I joined National School of Drama in 1993.