After 'Chandni Bar' there was a shutdown of such bars in Mumbai. After 'Page 3' people started avoiding such events. 'Traffic Signal' exposed the money flow through the mafia. I'm not apologetic about the brutal truth in my films. Almost 70% of my films are based on reality, and 30% I fictionalize or change to suit my film.
NYU Film School was the way to learn about film, to be exposed to film, to go to repertory houses, to be exposed to New York and see films. I would go to the library and see one, two or three movies a day.
'Masoom' was like a picnic for all of us. We kids just wanted to have fun acting in the film. We never realised when the film was completed. When we did, we realised the party was over.
When I started with 'Fugly', I was excited that I was playing a raw and edgy character in the film. After I nailed the audition, I realised that the role wasn't something I was comfortable with.
I remember till 997th film, but after that I got so busy with multiple projects; I'm not sure which one released as my 1,000th film.
After moving to Los Angeles in the early '90s, I started looking into "music for picture" more seriously and in broader scope. My collaboration as a programmer and arranger with Graeme Revell exposed me for the first time to the full spectrum of film music, including the hectic demands of orchestral scoring and the power politics surrounding the finalization of any score for a major motion picture in Hollywood.
Once I grew up and realised 'What am I doing?' I started re-listening to the music I was playing and I realised there was so much finesse - it was dynamic and simple but I wanted to be authentic to the original songs.
How many more people right now feel connected to Mumbai because of Slumdog Millionaire, or suddenly are interested in the plight of orphans on Mumbai after seeing that film? The same thing with the Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
I don't believe in an annual dose of film music for the sake of it being film music. If we program film music, it will be because there is a real artistic reason for doing so.
It's a very good thing for students also to be exposed to people who aren't film students or film scholars but who work in the world of film.
I am happy film stars are singing in their films. I hope to work as a music director for a film where actors will sing all the songs.
I signed my first film soon after I graduated from college. So, my real struggle started after my first film didn't do too well. But I believe failure only makes you stronger.
So I prefer to do the entire music for a film. And when I'm doing the background score, I can weave the whole film together in terms of themes and songs for a good cinematic feel.
I started in theatre, moved into film and television, and started doing voice work, which is funny because after a long time in film and television, you forget how much you rely on just a simple look on your face.
I was born in Faridabad but brought up in Delhi and Mumbai. My father had been living hand-to-mouth and literally slept on railway platforms when he came to Mumbai for the first time to become a film singer. My parents were both singers; they sang together and fell in love due to their singing.
I did the Kannada film when just out of school. I didn't know anything about the South Indian film industry at that time, and I did the film to earn some pocket money. I realised then I like acting.