Mahesh Bhatt

“Questioning authority can hardly be called our national pastime. We even make a philosophy out of fear. Fatalism, destiny, karma... are the favourite cultural holes we hide in when authority flogs us. And what's our tragedy.”

“'Hamari Adhuri Kahani' is a very emotional perspective on a traditional Indian woman.”

“I do not want myself to be restricted to a pigeonholed kind of filmmaker.”

“It's always better to make a hero than lean on one. My goal is to emulate China in the filmmaking business, not Los Angeles.”

“Men who create power make an indispensable contribution to a nation's greatness. But, men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable.”

“I am what this country dreams of achieving: a perfect example of composite India.”

“When the film industry moves to the 21st century, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that the money used in film-making is clean and devoid of any underworld connections.”

“It would be a tragedy for democracy if dissent goes away.”

“Life experiences cannot be learnt on the film set or in front of the camera.”

“Modi talks about Congress Mukt Bharat. I feel this is a fascist ideology.”

“I can be unhappy with the Congress, but I cannot give up on its ideology.”

“Every five years, there is a shift in cinema space, but we are slow to catch that. Young people understand that shift.”

“I have great reverence for women.”

“There is no denying that entertainment industries are insular, but you can't generalise that statement and apply it to everyone.”

“I don't think the choice of launching Sunny Leone as an actor in Hindi cinema was that radical a decision.”

“I come from a home where my mother was the only emotional umbrella under which we found all the warmth and comforts and sustenance. My father would come and go, and not as often as we'd want him to.”

“Campaigning for Congress is an issue of conviction, and there is no element of any personal gain in it.”

“The world is not a static place. People change, evolve.”

“There is a child in every man, and that's why larger-than-life stories which have a fairly tale component will work.”

“I was perhaps lucky to be born in a single-parent home where my mother, Shirin Mohammed Ali, was the sole figure I revered. My father's absence in my life in my formative years exposed me to only one person, who was my source of learning the lessons of life. So to me, listening to a woman and her worldly view is almost automatic.”