I've always worked with new directors. 'Pyar Koi Khel Nahin' with Sunny Deol, Anupam Kher's debut film 'Om Jai Jagdish,' and Niraj Vohra's 'Khiladi' were all first-time films.
I have always admired Mr. Naseeruddin Shah, Mr. Anupam Kher, the late Om Puri ji, and Amitabh Bachchan.
My mother taught me my first bhajan. My mother, Shobha Nigam, was a very religious woman. From her only I learnt 'Om Jai Jagdish' song and used to do puja along with her.
If a father could have made his son a star, then Sunny Deol's son Karan Deol's first film 'Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas' wouldn't have been a flop.
But a lot of 'Bhavesh Joshi' comes from the 'angry young man' - the Bachchan films of the '70s or the Sunny Deol films of the '80s, where there is someone who has been wronged and wants to do the right thing.
I don't know what to expect out of my films. My first two films were with extremely talented directors, and they didn't work. And my next two films were with newcomers, and they worked well. So I've stopped expecting anything from my movies.
I know that Madonna is not a first-time filmmaker, but I have worked with a lot of first time filmmakers and I have worked with a lot of inexperienced film directors so that never has particularly worried me - I find it quite exciting - but I have never worked with a director who has had so little experience of directing who was so prepared.
There was Rajniji, Subhash Ghai, Dimple Kapadia, Anupam Kher, and a few other friends at my wedding. That's it.
My career says that my doors will always be open for all. When an Anupam Kher walked in through my door at 28 and got 'Saaransh,' it launched his unimaginably productive career.
Anupam and I started as friends. I remember, every time I went through rough times, emotionally rough times, Anupam would always be there. In fact, Anupam had this strange quality of pulling me out of depression and making me feel much better.
We've managed a hat trick with 'Kaho Na Pyar Hai,' 'Koi Mil Gaya' and 'Krrish.'
I feel very fortunate to have made my debut with Sunny Deol. I'm aware of his stardom, his popularity, and his reach. I'm sure that teaming up with him has made people sit back and notice me.
I don't have any problem working with first-time directors because all directors have to start somewhere and all great directors have had a first film. So, if you take the view that you don't want to work with a first-timer, you might miss out on a fantastic opportunity.
It's a win-win situation when you make your debut with a superstar like Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, or Sunny Deol. The audience walks in to watch the actors they idolise; they also end up noticing beginners like me.
As colleagues, Shammi ji was my first co-actor and the hero of my debut film 'Junglee' in 1961. I met him for the first time at Kashmir's Shalimar Bagh where we were filming the song 'Kashmir ki kali hoon main.' I was an excited teenager, fresh out of London College, and had pursued films against my mother's wishes.
There are certain times you realize you've got too much money. One was when I started getting bills from the Koi hotel. When I was remodeling the Koi pond, the Koi had to go to the Koi hotel. They ended up staying there for 13 months and I never asked what the bill was.
In Jaipur, I did almost everything from regional theatre to Shakespeare's plays. But when I shifted to Mumbai, I joined Anupam Kher's academy, Actor Prepares,to hone my acting skills.