To be a great actor, you really don't need to go to acting school or learn dance classes or work on your body. You have to be intelligent. You have to draw on a lot of emotions that you go through in life that you can tap into once you work on a set.
I myself am a great James Dean fan. He had this aura and enigma about him.
I read autobiographies because there is too much fiction in my life.
'Bombay Velvet' is my most romantic film, it's my 'Titanic' or 'Gone With The Wind.'
I truly believe that God has given us few brain cells, and you have to direct them to the right things that make you happy.
I was never a bright student, potentially never good at dramatics; I was sometimes given one-line roles that I was happy to do so that I could bunk classes. My mother used to cry three times a year, and that is when my report card used to come.
It's not that I am not emotional, but I am extremely secure and curb it, as I am afraid to let go and be broken. So, I have cultivated myself to be detached in life, specially where movies are concerned.
To be honest, I was born in luxury. I never saw the dearth of money, so money is not something which motivates me.
'Saawariya' was my debut film. It will always be the most special film.
I'm quite detached from failure and success. Once a shooting is done, I kind of close that chapter in my life.
I watch 'Entourage.' I aspire the good life that they live and lead. Honestly, I am just trying to be me by trying to do good films, have fun at it and trying to work with good directors, and, of course, I am a bit of a silent party boy, also. I have my share of fun sometime, too.
To be honest, the core reason why I became an actor was that I didn't want to go to school. That's where it started. I hated opening my history books and my English books, but then, of course, you grow older. I went to film school in New York, and that's when you really realize that you have to grow up now. It's not child's play anymore.
Movies are a director's medium, and they end up getting less credit than actors. They get the flak if the movie doesn't do well, and the actor walks away with most of the credit if the film does well.
My first film 'Saawariya' was a flop; I don't regret it.
It's all because of my parents that I am gifted with such good looks and people get attracted to me. I have built an image in the industry, and because of that, I have so many female fans. I want to build my male fan following, too.
Love is such that God grants us one person who we can spend the rest of our life with. It rarely happens that we don't.
I'm very heterosexual, so dating women is something I'm not ashamed of. But my love life is not as exciting as it is reported to be.
I decide intuitively what I want to do. When directors like Imtiaz Ali, Ayan Mukerji, Anurag Basu and Anurag Kashyap, who have stories to tell, come to me, why would I not be a part of it?
I think, for a love story, the most important element is the music, since you don't have action sequences or item numbers. It really draws in the audience and adds to at least 70 percent of the opening of the movie.
The first time I thought I should be an actor was in school. I thought, 'At least this is something for which I won't have to study.' But I've realised that an actor needs to be constantly unsure about what he's doing and about what's going on around him. The moment you think you've nailed it, you're dead.
