George Washington said, "All I am, I owe to my mother." That's so true. My mom pushed me to get in politics. She pushed me to learn a bunch of languages. She pushed me and inspired me. She is the reason why I'm in politics.
I'm the only composer who has scored for two-three generation of actors. Be it for Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan or Dharmendra, Sunny Deol or Sunil Dutt, Sanjay Dutt - I have done it all.
Working in 'Man Ka Meet', I noticed the dedication and sincerity of Sunil Dutt at his work. He encouraged every new comer and made me as well as others feel very comfortable on the sets.
Men like Sunil Dutt should not be mourned, only envied for their greatness.
When I told my father that I wanted to join the film industry, he asked me if I was sure about it, as acting is a very insecure profession. He also asked me if my reason to join the same profession like him was to have an easy road. I said no.
It is unfortunate that nobody has highlighted the work done by actor-turned-politician Sunil Dutt.
Producer Ram Mukherjee was making 'Hum Hindustani' and he wanted to cast me opposite Sunil Dutt. But it was decided that I would look diminutive before him and the character too was such that she portrays herself to be opposite of what she is.
So what if I am an actor? MGR, Jayalalithaa, Raj Babbar, Sunil Dutt - all made successful politicians.
After my graduation from Sydenham College with a degree in Commerce, I was spotted by late Sunil Dutt, my idol, to act in films.
'Padosan' is a three-dimensional film. The chemistry between Saira Banu, Sunil Dutt and Mehmood is too good.
I have met Sunil Dutt-ji two or three times and though I don't have a special memory of these meetings, I know that he was a gentleman and a fantastic human being.
In 2009, my father wanted me to join politics. I told him, 'Why should I jump into the dirt and grime of politics when I can have politicians come to me as owner of a media group?' Then my father gave me an ultimatum.
I am glad that actors like Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan are doing justice to comedy. But in our days, nobody could beat Sunil Dutt and Amitabh Bachchan.
I find that my entire life has come to me, and things happened without me planning them. You know, I never asked to photograph Princess Diana, and that made me more famous than I wanted. I never asked to photograph Madonna, and that pushed me to another level. There are things that just take you into the limelight.
I learned the songs and played the gigs, and then they called me about a month later. They told me they were like super stoked on me and asked me to join their band.
One of my brothers, Eric, who is one year older than me, was actually the first one to start boxing, and being the youngest sibling, I wanted to do what he did, so I pushed my parents to let me join.