Pankaj Kapur

“I was required to jump from a parachute into a lake and for this I was dangled in the air 100 feet above the ground with the help of a harness. It was scary in the beginning as I had never attempted such a thing before.”

“If you have to make a story in 10 rupees or you know that at this stage you can get only 10 rupees then you cut down on your expenses. But when one has made four-five films one likes to broaden the horizons.”

“In a play, a few actors perform a few characters, and they need to perform those characters with a certain level of believability so that audiences can actually understand and see them as those characters.”

“Content-driven films can make money - something that is gripping, is a journey of revelation and is relevant is cinema.”

“It's a bit unusual that I'm the novelist and the actor who is reading out his own material.”

“In theatre there is a certain discipline that you have to follow, and you have to be experienced to be performing in front of a live audience. It is satisfying to me.”

“So, 50 films, 3 National Awards, 74 plays and serials later, here I am playing Professor Das in JL50,' who understands time travel. When in reality, I'm not tech savvy at all.”

“I became a writer out of the desire to express myself.”

“In the 80s, parallel cinema gained momentum. So, I got back to films and won National awards for Maqbool' and other films.”

“When you ask me why I do one film a year, it is not my fault. I've chosen what I liked from whatever work came my way.”

“I might not do it again and again, but I would like to test waters which are considered forbidden for me. It is a human tendency.”

“There's no set rule, but when you look at the script, you start thinking about this person and how to create this human being on screen. You dig deeper into a script.”

“I agree I'd like to do more work. But the right kind of roles has to be offered to me. I'm not saying the roles need to be realistic all the time, though that's what I like connecting with on screen.”

“What's most fortunate is that once he turned 18, Shahid assisted me for a while, so we got to spend a lot of time with each other.”

“I have been rather selective, doing not more than two or thee films a year, so that leaves me with plenty of time to prep for my plays and theatre activities.”

“I enjoy playing different kind of people.”

“I believe your children should work on their own and make a name for themselves. By doing this they become confident. My parents did this with me and I tried to do the same with my children.”

“There are millions of people in the world, I have only played a few of them.”

“When an actor gets an opportunity to do things, only then can he prove his mettle.”

“I have loved playing every character that I essayed.”