I take criticism very positively if it's genuine.
You can be technically strong, and focus all your efforts on elements like casting, music, cinematography and sets, but they are all just add ons. End of the day, filmmaking is really about how well you tell a story.
I read pretty much every graphic novel I could lay my hands on. Not only 'Batman' or 'Daredevil,' but random ones like 'Black AF' and '100 Bullets.'
If you're making a statement just to poke, people can see that. If you're making it to say something genuinely, people can understand that as well. They are smart enough to see the difference.
I like the films that gain awareness at the end - a sort of breakout moment.
It doesn't matter how big the film is - if the story is not good, it will not be accepted. Stardom can maybe pull audiences to theatres but beyond that it is all about content.
Multiplex cinema culture has created a level-playing field for directors where small budget movies are able to break even, even make profit.
I've never lived anywhere else in my life, I have a massive love-hate relationship with this city. I grew up in the western suburbs in the '80s and for everything we had to go to south Bombay - so you lived the whole city, in a sense.
My father is a Sindhi and my mother, a Bengali.
I like to make something different and interesting.
I don't think 'Lootera' is slow paced; it's finely paced for its setting and story.
'Udta Punjab' is a story of four different people merged together. There are four different stories and four different perspectives.
The most important thing in a love story for me is the intensity and passion that my lead actors bring into playing their characters.
I'm happy Lootera has sparked off a discussion.
I think because of social media and YouTube things are changing. Today people have a judgement about films.
Personally, the films I love include 'Black Friday,' 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai,' 'Love Sex Aur Dhoka,' and 'Zindagi Na Milege Dobara' because they work at the box office and are complete packages.
But a lot of 'Bhavesh Joshi' comes from the 'angry young man' - the Bachchan films of the '70s or the Sunny Deol films of the '80s, where there is someone who has been wronged and wants to do the right thing.
I would love to direct a documentary film if any good subject comes my way.
Dystopia is a very interesting setting. Whether it's '1984' or 'Fahrenheit 451'... Dystopia is a wonderfully cinematic setting.
Horror movies make a lot of money in India.
