My mother is most attached to my brother because she has the feeling that she could not provide him anything. By the time I was born, at least I got a meal and a half a day, but he sometimes got only water.

I have wanted to direct for quite some time, but I wanted to be ready and know what I am doing. I wanted to know the basics.

My mother's prayers protect me. Negativity, nothing reaches me.

While shooting for 'Kodi' at Pollachi, I got this new idea for 'VIP 2'.

I've improved as an actor, thanks to my wonderful directors. As a person, I've changed, too; I was 16 when I did 'Thullavatho Ilamai,' and I'm 32 now. With age, I've sobered down. I'm calmer; I can see things more clearly now.

Music is my breath, blood and food - without music I would perish; the actor in me would die.

I am not answerable to what happens with my personal life.

I had to fight; I had to fall, and I had to get hurt to be where I am.

Trust me, it has been anything but easy to make it as an actor.

What I didn't expect was 'VIP' becoming something of a cult and one of my biggest hits.

Every man plays many roles. So far, I have played father the best.

There is no such thing as a Bollywood hero or Hollywood hero. All you see on the screen is the lead actor's interpretation of the role that has been conceived by the writer.

I never wanted to let go of the opportunity, and so I hit upon 'VIP 2'.

While I do not believe in idol worship, I believe in energy.

I don't know why, but rain comes into my head the minute I think of my childhood.

Apart from 'VIP' being a blockbuster movie, the various characters such as mine, the Luna bike I use in the movie, the lovable amma and appa, a pet dog named Harry Potter, the innocent brother, etc., had a huge reach among the audiences.

I come from a very humble background. My father had to work really hard to become an assistant director. For a large part of his youth, he worked in a mill and took up odd jobs to make ends meet. We lived in a small room and could only afford a meal a day.

It has been great journey from where I have started to where I am today. I am really blessed with God's grace.

I don't believe in dieting.

I feel better now at 38 then I did when I was 17. But then, when I was 17 I did have the attitude of a 40 year-old.

Twenty or 30 years ago, certainly when my mother was my age, I'm sure she felt things were pretty over for her. You had your kids when you were 20. You brought them up. They left home. Then what do you do? While I feel genuinely optimistic. Well, I have no other choice.

The very nature of acting is one minute you're up and the next you're down; one minute you're in favour and the next you're forgotten. You go away and you come back again.

I know that people in the public eye are always being chipped away at by very cynical attitudes in the press.

I'm not a religious person at all.