S. S. Rajamouli

“Rajinikanth is humility personified. He's a huge star in India, and people are dying to just see him on the screen.”

“After the blockbuster 'Magadheera,' I made a film with comedian Sunil as the hero. If I am interested in making a film - big or small - I will go ahead and make it.”

“I am now confident about attempting a Hindi film. I believe if you have a good story to tell, audiences will watch it.”

“I shoot a scene, edit it, and then, two days later, I doubt whether or not it has turned out right. I reshoot a small part of it, go back to the first edit of it, and do all sorts of things.”

“I don't believe in luck. Everything is our doing or undoing. If something doesn't come out right, then as a director, you have to take full responsibility. You can't just say, 'No, I gave this job to the music supervisor. They promised me they would do it, and they didn't do it.' You can't blame anyone else.”

“After 'Maryada Ramanna,' I wanted to make a quick film on a shoestring budget.”

“People like to see Ravi Teja as a vibrant, massy character. We needed to do something more. So I gave him the extra flavour of the cop character and high emotions. And Ravi did a good job.”

“I would say the most important aspect of direction is that you, as a director, and your producer need to be on the same page, the same line of thinking. If that doesn't happen in the beginning of the film, then that will show in the final product 100 percent.”

“To make a film with Rajinikanth will be a dream come true for any director, and I'm not an exception. But I always believe that it's the story that should drive you. If I come up with something like that, and if the story inspires me, I would be happy to work with him.”

“Creating is one thing; telling the story is one thing. I see myself more as a storyteller than a story creator.”

“Without my family, I'm nothing. They kept me in the right place. I believe that I'm the luckiest person in the country when I'm with them.”

“'Bahubali' did not happen overnight. The producer Shobhu Yarlagadda, Prabhas, and I kept talking and discussing and imagining.”

“No director can ever deliver what's on his or her mind totally, but 'Baahubali-2' is the closest I can get in executing what I had envisaged onto the celluloid.”

“'Mayabazar' was the film I immensely loved as a kid. Only when I became a filmmaker about 20 years later did I realise its technical marvel and what a great epic it was. I and my visual effects supervisor, while making 'Yamadonga,' took two days to understand the magnification shot of Ghatothkatcha's persona.”

“I like all kinds of films; 'Bommarillu' is a favourite film. But I can't make that kind of film.”

“If someone makes an inroad into a new territory, a new market, people will follow their success. That way, I think we will be getting more pan-India films and not restricted to a region or a language. More and more films will come out on a bigger budget, on a larger-than-life scale.”

“Any hit films, impact-creating films, leave their mark on the industry. It is in human nature to try to follow something that is creating an impact.”

“A star is different, and an actor is different. But there is an actor in every star, and they, too, look for challenging roles to satisfy the actor in them.”

“When I was in Mumbai for the promotion of 'Makkhi,' I met Ajay Devgn, Kajol, and Shah Rukh Khan, and I wanted to meet Aamir Khan. He was shooting out of India. I also met my favourite director, Raju Hirani. All of them showered praises on 'Makkhi.'”

“Audiences are always open to an interesting story.”