I'm glad I made business investments, because it gave me the confidence financially to make brave choices. If I hadn't done that, I'd still have been trying to play 19-year-olds in films. I know there are other avenues for me.
If some actress thinks she is sexy and she can dance, it's her choice. I do what I want to do, and I set my own benchmark. I will never compare myself with anyone.
I moved to cricket at a time when I was at the peak of my career, and I can guarantee you that no one else from Bollywood would have done that.
I am always friendly with people. When media asks me for a picture or interview, I readily do it. However, I wouldn't like them clicking my picture when I am eating or when I visit a temple. I don't want to be big in front of God.
There will always be competition, especially in showbiz. There's always someone younger and hungrier standing behind you; there's always someone with more contacts; there's always someone whose grandfather or father is a filmmaker. I think your job is just to be there 100% - you work hard, and there are no shortcuts to success.
I always follow my heart and my guts. If I want to do something, I have immense belief in hard work and myself. I have it in me to do well anywhere and in anything I do. I have a deep desire to excel in everything I do.
I have grown up in Delhi in a way, and I keep coming here often. But, and I am sorry to say, I'll always be nervous when in Delhi. In my college days, I have had my bum pinched around so many times. So yes, in Mumbai, I can just walk around and do what I want to do, but in Delhi I'll always be scared.
I still love Delhi but get scared of the madness sometime. I know that my fans love me. But it gets a bit tough to handle when, in their excitement, they start touching and poking you to see if you're for real.
L.A. is wonderful. They have something called sleep dentistry. You just go there, and they put you to sleep and go, 'Drrrrrr,' and by the time you wake up a few hours later, you have a whole new set of teeth. I mean, whatever you want them to do.
When you step away from doing something that you have always been doing and then you return to it, you have a different perspective. You get that desire and the will to strike at everything.
Luck always favours the brave. And you must remember that brave are the people who follow their heart; brave are the people who take chances in life. Which also means you have to say no sometimes. I believe the power of no is greater than yes.
As an actress, I never went to film school, and I think if I had gone to film school, I would have started with a great advantage. If you have a strong intent to do anything in life, you can do it, but it always helps to have formal training.
My mother always tells me that when I was a little kid, my first ambition was to be a truck driver, and after that, I went through everything from wanting to be a Prime Minister to an air hostess, but never an actor. So I became one, and it was a great journey. I learnt a lot, worked very hard.
I feel really humbled because I decided to go on Twitter, and all of my fans on Twitter say one thing consistently every single day, and that is, 'When are you coming back in movies?' I didn't even think people missed me that much.
I'm an actor, and I keep observing people and their reactions to figure out what they are thinking. There's only so much you can do on your own, so you have to keep learning. Art imitates life.
I've never cheated or been cheated upon. I've seen my parents together and secure. So I feel the same way. Infidelity stems from low self-esteem. You want to cheat when you don't feel good about yourself.
In 2008, I just decided that there will come a time when I am dead and gone, and I only have a body of work to show. That was when I did films like 'Last Lear' and Deepa Mehta's 'Heaven On Earth.' They were serious roles.
I think no one but me has the right to write about my life as I want to write it in a particular way. I don't think any other person will be able to tell the story of my life like how I have approached it. It works best when it's written by someone who has experienced it herself.
I am very reactive towards everything. There are some who don't react at all, they absorb everything quietly, while I'd go all out and show my expressions. This is not part of some tamasha I do; I do it because it's part of my personality. To each his own.
I cannot starve myself. I'm a foodie! I make fabulous pastas, Indian food, parathas and club sandwiches!
