In the history of Indian cinema I am the only South Indian director who has survived for 12 years and 25 films in Bollywood.
I'm very loyal to my south fans and the industry there. So, it's hard for me leave all the love, respect, and admiration and shift base here. I'm a Mumbai girl and have lived here for most of my life. At the same time, I've spent 10 years of my life in the South and feel like a south Indian at heart.
Be proud that thou art an Indian, and proudly proclaim, "I am an Indian, every Indian is my brother." Say, "The ignorant Indian, the poor and destitute Indian, the Brahmin Indian, the Pariah Indian, is my brother."
I am pleased about making a comeback in Bollywood, but then I really cannot think about leaving South Indian cinema. Whatever I am today is because of South films, and I cannot give up on that.
I am proud of the fact that I am the first South Indian director who has been accepted by Bollywood wholeheartedly.
I am a south Indian, so I speak Tamil.
I am comfortable with all four South Indian languages.
I am from a south Indian Tamilian family, so all my cousins are into academics and I alone was in sports.
I still have that South Indian accent. But I am working on it. Hindi audiences should feel that I am speaking like them and should relate to me.
I quit south Indian films because I was bored. The fans in south India were also quite demanding.
Sometimes in the mainstream movies, a character who is from the South is portrayed by a person who looks like a South Indian but speaks in fake accent.
I spent 15 years of my career trying to convince people that Indian cinema is relevant. I am so proud of Indian cinema and I am so proud of my Indian roots. The IIFAs are doing a great job to this effect.
Yes, I am Irish and Indian, which would be the coolest blend in the world if my parents were around to teach me how to be Irish and Indian. But they're not here and haven't been for years, so I'm not really Irish or Indian. I am a blank sky, a human solar eclipse.
I definitely am open to South Indian films. There is a lot of good work coming from these states and I would like to be a part in some of them.
I grew up in South Mumbai and I am a total homebody, so I was not seen around. I guess that's the reason many believed that I wasn't Indian or can't speak Hindi.