Swara Bhaskar

“When I came to Mumbai, I didn't know a soul. The only person I knew was an assistant director, which, everyone agrees, is the lowest form of life on the set. So, it was not a great contact to have. So, I knew from day one that I wasn't going to be launched opposite a superstar.”

“You have to look beyond your known limited experience. Politics should be based on compassion.”

“Bottom line is, off-beat film or commercial films, Tollywood or Bollywood, it's the role that matters to me.”

“When I grew up, I realised what an amazing thing my parents did. It was such a big deal for my mom, a middle class woman, to decide to leave her children and husband to go and do her Ph.D. for three years. And my dad, who is even more middle class, a traditional South Indian, to let his wife do that.”

“I am a self-destructive idiot.”

“Remember that you have to be happy to make other people happy. Don't get weighed down by duty, guilt, and responsibility all the time.”

“Frankly, Indian women inherit this collective cultural unconscious - this sense of guilt, shame, and dishonour. I think Indian girls need to become shameless and a little selfish, too.”

“As a student, I was a total jhalli who used to wear torn denims, faded kurtis, kohled eyes and thought that I was the coolest girl ever! We were a bunch of students who used to do social-issue-based street plays and believed that we could bring about a change in the world.”

“Let me be honest - I might do a franchise film like 'Golmaal' if it comes my way. Eventually, we are all in Mumbai to become bigger stars, not better actors.”

“I am a greedy, selfish actor, and for me, my role is important.”

“Once, I had a huge fight on a film set with an actor who threw tea on a spot boy's face. I refused to shoot until he apologised.”

“The contentious issue of pay parity between male and female actors is easily resolvable if a number of big actresses decide to put their foot down. But we have to also consider the factors of time and labour. If a female actor has shot only for 40 days and the male actor for 200 days, she cannot expect to be paid the same amount.”

“Politics should come from human stories.”

“In India, thousands of people want to be in the movies because Bollywood plays such a huge role in our lives.”

“There have been instances when people have told me that I look too intelligent to be an actress.”

“I have become a little more cynical and, I would like to believe, a little wiser. When I first came to Mumbai, I was very idealistic. Now I can look anyone in the face and tell a lie. But I'm in a good place.”

“I have had to answer questions like, 'But you don't look like lead material.' Now, I still don't know what 'lead material' looks like because everyone has eyes, a nose, and a face.”

“I feel that where I came from made me the actor that I am, and I wouldn't want to trade that with anything else.”