I have always loved South Africa, where I shot 'Andaz' and 'No Entry.' Some of the biggest films of my career have been shot in Cape Town.
Sometimes, I shot for four films but none of them released because of various reasons. So, I started becoming conscious about the kind of films I do.
In Kerala, we prefer slower films unlike the Hindi audiences. Here they want fast films with action in every frame. Also, we don't have too many songs.
Everyone eats all kinds of food in Kerala. Kerala is one of the states where life span is the highest; and lifespan is closely linked to food habits. In Kerala, people are generally non-vegetarians. If it was bad for health, life expectancy would not have been so good.
I've always just loved drawing and loved cartoons. Growing up, I loved Disney films, I loved The Simpsons, and I was a big fan of the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes and the way that they would have weird fantasy and then down-to-earth funny character comedy.
I think my mom is the inspiration of me wanting to do film and TV and be an actor because she loved film so much. She loved, like, horror films and action films, so growing up, she loved watching all the Charles Bronson films and all the westerns.
I am happy my films have done well in Kerala.
As my mother is a Kerala Brahmin and my father a Kerala Nair, every day in the house is like a religious festival.
Kerala's strength is not the size of its state exchequer, but it is the support of Malayalis from all over the world and others who love Kerala.
In Kerala, people are more educated, so you can have subtlety in Malayalam films.
The reach of big-budget films is bigger, but I have always loved doing films that I believe in.
I was barely 16 when I started working. And I worked extensively. But you can work extensively till a point.
So many films are being shot on the DSLR, that they're all starting to look the same. There's a shallow depth of field. It's a nice look, but I can always identify a film shot with a DSLR.
I always loved movies like 'King Kong' and 'Planet of the Apes,' monster movies, Ray Harryhausen films, all of that stuff. I always loved the music in them, too.
I always loved watching movies because I loved what certain moments inside of films did to me.
I have great expectations about 'Trance.' It has been in the making for two years and we shot in Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, places in Kerala and in Mumbai.