The PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award is a way of spotlighting individual cases. If you look at the history of the award, the freedom rate is very high: a very high percentage of people who receive those awards are freed in the next six months to a year. The only weapon there is attention, but interestingly it works.
It was nice to receive the ICC woman's cricketer of the year award because when Jhulan Goswami won the award I was very young.
An award, to me, means a bonus. It's not that an actor works for an award. I don't work for an award. But, when you get an award, it is encouraging and inspiring and reminds you that you need to do well.
I don't set out to win awards. I don't think any musician does, but when you receive an award, it's an affirmation: it means that people appreciate what you do. Every award I have received is a confirmation of something I have done, and that motivates me to push a little harder.
Though I was nominated for awards for films like 'Tezaab' and 'Apna Sapna Money Money' but I never won an award. Now I am not even nominated for any awards but still I attend the award functions as I love being there despite figuring prominently in a lot of leg pulling that goes around in the award ceremonies.
The way America works, and the way L.A. works, is a very small percentage of people get what they want out of life, and a much greater percentage try very very hard and they don't. That's just the way it is.
When I was in high school, I earned the pimple award and every other gross-out award.
The reality is that we have all these awards and all these festivals that give out awards, so you sort of go, 'okay, well, people liked the film, and I think it's a good film, and it's up for an award - well, I guess it should win the award then.'
When I was young, I really wanted to be a part of the end-of-year awards shows, but now that I'm actually there, it feels weird. I used to go to church and ended the year with a prayer, but now I spend it with people I'm not very familiar with at an award show, and I wonder if it's something I should be doing.
Very few countries grow at high rate if inflation is high and volatile. I think, in a way, we are doing our bit to support a higher growth rate, but on a durable basis.
Negative freedom is freedom from - freedom from oppression, whether it's a colonial power or addiction to alcohol oppressing you. You need to be freed from negative freedom. Positive freedom is freedom for, freedom to be. And that's what's routinely ignored today.
In the course of history no people have ever been given freedom like a present, and if freedom did not cost anything than no people would ever keep it! Freedom has a high price, and men must ever struggle to preserve it.
It seems like I'm one of those people that has the personality where, if I win an award, I wake up the next day, and I'm like 'Oh, but I didn't win this award though, or this didn't happen.'
I don't set out to win awards. I don't think any musician does, but when you receive an award, it's an affirmation: it means that people appreciate what you do.
Sadly most films only get exposure if they win an award or were in a festival, which is really difficult because those things cost money! Submitting your film to a festival or campaigning for an Oscar or a Golden Globe is very expensive. Most people don't know that, but all those events require a lot of money. If you have a small independent film, it's very hard to get the attention of people in those circles.
Why do we want to win an award? Yes, my grandmother would be very proud, but I think it's also so people can hear, 'Oh, this show won an award. I guess it's good. I should watch it now.'
Over the last six months, I've seen what these two futures look like. And six months from now, we'll all be living in one, or the other. But only one. A country where our president either has our back or turns his back; a country that honors our foremothers by moving us forward, or one that forces our generation to re-fight the battles they already won; a country where we mean it when we talk about personal freedom, or one where that freedom doesn't apply to our bodies and our voices.