I am now confident about attempting a Hindi film. I believe if you have a good story to tell, audiences will watch it.
Now I know Hindi, and I can read and write Hindi, but the problem is that I can't improvise when I am acting because I think in English, so I have to translate my thinking from English to Hindi, and therefore, I speak slowly.
I will not leave my South films for a Hindi film. I want to be sincere to my South film makers and commitments. Only if my dates are not clashing with any of my South films will I do Hindi films.
Bollywood is not a stepping stone to the West. I am extremely picky and in no hurry to sign a Hollywood film. I am only greedy for great roles; language and country is no barrier. And yes, I'll always be a Hindi film star first.
I like doing Marathi films. I am not too keen on Hindi TV shows. It's very tough to get Hindi films, but if a good script and role comes up in future, I will surely pick it up.
I am going to produce a movie of my own. I am not going to stick to the time-tested formulae of Hindi cinema. I want to make a film for the present generation. So there will be a lot of new faces in the film.
When you are acting in a film, you are only worried about your performance and how the film will shape up.
I am a movie buff - I even claim I am a Hindi film encyclopedia post 1988(only because that was the year I was born in... haha).
I am constantly asked, 'What's the difference between acting in the theater and acting in film?' The only answer I can give is the space - you adapt to the space. But acting is acting.
I am on 'Bigg Boss' only because it can open doors to the Hindi film industry for me.
Of course you cannot compare my Hindi with a Hindi-speaking person, but I am confident enough to hold a conversation in mixed Hindi-English.
Every love story or Hindi film has the same story, but what makes it different is the treatment it's given. Much depends on how it is stylised, how the characters are moulded, and how the story is treated.
I haven't even grown up on Hindi films because my Hindi is bad; I am a Parsi and we speak English or Gujarati at home.
I was born and brought up in London, so I couldn't speak Hindi properly. But as I am socialising more with my Hindi speaking friends, I'm getting better at the language.
As an actor, I am only excited about doing good work - be it in mainstream Hindi cinema, Hollywood, a French film, or a Marathi movie.
I do not want to be a part of Hindi cinema's rat race. But yes, if I get offers and characters which I feel would suit me as well as make some difference to me, I will do a Hindi film.