“A good project but a poor director will always make a mediocre film, but an average script and good director can make a good film, as he will put in everything to make the film look good.”

“As far as expectations go, you can never work for expectations. You have to work against them.”

“By the time you're 30, you know who you are inside. You learn to laugh at things you can't change; you learn to be yourself.”

“Earlier, looking lighter or slimmer never mattered to me. Frankly, I didn't care. I had more important things to do. But when I figured that it's not that hard, and I have the time, passion and patience to take it up, I jumped onto the health-wagon. I started working out.”

“Earlier, my priority was only work. I worked like a dog before I got married. After marriage, once you have a baby, time management is difficult. Your responsibilities change, your priorities change. And you have to concentrate on them if you have to work out your life. Your career is just a part of your life. For me, my family is my life.”

“Every parent craves for a child, and once their wishes come true, they feel that it's not possible for them to love anyone more that the first born. But the fact is, after you have the second issue, the feeling is, how can I not love the kid?”

“Everybody has their own rules, and so do I. I have always lived on my own terms. As far as mistakes are concerned, I've made them and acknowledged them as mistakes, not regrets. I consider my life a success. There's nothing that I would re-do. I've always done what I felt was right.”

“Everyone has the right to their lives and to look the way they want to! Tomorrow I can put on 25 kilos... it's my choice, my body!”

“Films are not the sole area in my life. Films are a passion. But it's not like I'll die if I don't get another movie. I'll grow, I'll flourish, I'll learn something new, but I'll always do something that I like. If I get the right film, I'll do it. I will not compromise for anything else.”

“For me, men and women are different. A man is genetically gifted to pull more than a woman. But at the same time, I don't consider women to be any less than men. In fact, I feel we are far more intelligent than them.”

“Going out at night and having a fabulous social life takes a lot out of you, and I don't know if I have that much to give, honestly. I would rather give that time to my kids or spend that time reading a book or watching a film. I am selfish and lazy.”

“Hand washing is the first basic step towards achieving any millennium goals for development. It saves lives.”

“I am a very strict mother, and as a mother, it's my responsibility to guide my kids and tell them to go how far and no further. There should be rules and guidelines for the kids, and they should know their limits.”

“I am mean; I'm nasty at times. I don't feel like talking to people at times. When I am in a bad mood and have had a really awful day, don't come in my face because I am not tolerant and I am not a goddess; I can't handle it after a point. I am going to get up, and I am going to scream, and I am going to say bad things to you.”

“I am simply not interested in the pots and pans affair, and neither can I bring myself to be interested in the same. I have such great cooks in the family that I would rather manage the other affairs and leave the kitchen to those who know it best.”

“I believe in my privacy. I always have, and I always will. I don't think that my private life needs to be on display for me to get a better response at the box office or for me to get a better choice of movies.”

“I can't stand on a podium and beat my chest saying I'm the best. I just think I've been the luckiest of all. Yes, I'm talented. The movies that I've chosen and the way they've fared have also helped. I've always done films I would love to watch. I have stayed away from films which I thought were depressing.”

“I do believe in soulmates and happy/successful marriages. No marriage can be happy 24x7 for 365 days. Both partners have to make the relationship work, is what I believe in.”

“I don't really care what other people see me as. I seriously don't. I've always worried about what my opinion of myself is. And I've always thought that it carries most weight. So I don't care what other people's opinion of me is or how they view whatever I've said or done.”

“I don't think any actor can be satisfied. I am still in the learning phase and hope I am always in the learning frame of mind in acting or in anything else that I do. That's what makes life interesting and worth living.”

“I don't want to be any kind of producer at all - hands-on or otherwise! I feel producing is a very difficult job and creates ulcers! Maybe some people would like to have a certain amount of control; not me. It's too much stress and includes managing everybody's egos... handling my own is enough!”

“I feel like I am doing a lot, but if someone asks me what exactly I have accomplished, I don't know... putting my son to sleep, feeding him, taking care of things in the house amount to a lot of work. But, yes, I haven't arrested 14 criminals in one day or saved the world or anything of that sort!”

“I have a lot of road rage. Mostly with the rickshaw and cab drivers trying to cut me; it's the traffic. Grrrr!”

“I have always been very choosy, but as you grow older, your tolerance for crap becomes less. The role I will do today has to justify the time I take away from my kids and my husband. I love them, spend a lot of time with them and love doing things for them. So to go away for three to six months, I need something equally powerful.”

“I know what my comfort zones are. But without a back-up, I will never step out of my comfort zone. I don't go bungee jumping; I won't jump from the third floor without a safety net. I don't do such things. That's not my personality type.”

“I love my body. And, I'm always working out. I'm an exercise freak, be it cardio, weights, t'ai chi or yoga.”

“I sincerely believe that no problem is bigger than man, and problems are blown out of proportion by man himself.”

“I spend five times more money at a chemist shop than I would at a fashion boutique. Clothes shopping is optional for me; shopping at a chemist store is a must.”

“I tell my daughter Nyssa, 'You should respect my work, and I will also respect yours when you grow up.' 'Work is worship' is what I have told her.”

“I think I am very hands-on mother. I am very strict, and my daughter keeps telling me, 'You are too hard on me,' and I keep telling her, 'I have to be hard because if I am not hard, you will not learn the lessons that I want you to learn.' I think it is really important to be that way.”

“I was a complete brat but was an angel with my mother. I used to be perfectly behaved, and my mother used to be like... 'Really, are you badly behaved with other people?' I was like, 'No, not at all.' But the minute she used to leave the room, I was a brat.”

“I won't ever direct a film. And I certainly won't write an autobiography. Only self-obsessed people want to write or talk about themselves!”

“I wouldn't do a film like 'The Dirty Picture.' I have a husband and kids, and I won't be able to do justice to such a role. You need a certain mentality and ease to carry such a character.”

“I'd love sloth. I wish sloth would come home and visit me once in a while. I don't consider laziness a sin at all.”

“I'd say working on television is much, much tougher than films. But television has a great connect with a live audience, which is a refreshing change for us actors.”

“If I like something, I will pick it up from anywhere and wear it. I don't believe that only branded stuff looks good on you. If it doesn't look good in my eyes, I'll never wear it.”

“If I read in a paper that somebody has said something about me, I'm going to take it with a pinch of salt; I really am!”

“If you recognize a face while surfing through 200 channels, you will stop and listen. Celebrities give a positive aura and people like them. Their message appeals to people.”

“If you say one gets influenced watching a character, I think it's foolish. Cinema reflects society; society rarely reflects cinema.”

“If you want to lose weight, you have to be obsessed with it. You can't depend upon your dietician, your trainer or various health aids that you have. You have to be organised. And believe me, it isn't that difficult. The first 10 days are terrible because you have to break the lifelong habits that you have made.”

“In life, I take my decisions and stand by them. Some decisions may have proven to be not the best, but I have learnt from them, and I've never repeated a mistake again. If someone tells me to turn left, I will go right! I could not have been taught a lesson in any other way rather than by going through it.”

“I've punched a fan in the face because he was obnoxious. I've also pinched a child and made him cry, but I was 10 then!”

“Let's be realistic - 90% of superheroes are male. Personally, I prefer Superman, Batman and Spider-Man to Wonder Woman. Not that I don't like female superheroes, but watching male superheroes gives me a high.”

“Motherhood is an amazing feeling, and if you get to relive those special moments while working, it works as an icing on the cake. Kids have always been close to my heart, and working with them is a pleasure for me.”

“My kids are in front of the computer 24x7 despite having all the parental control. There is no way to stop the flow of information. The flow of information is too fast and too much.”

“My only reason why I am not doing films is my children. My children need my attention, and it's my duty to give them my time. I have not given birth to them to just dump them and go off to work. I am not that kind of a person.”

“Oh God, my choice of film has never depended on the hero. In fact, you will see that some of my categorical mistakes had nothing to do with the hero in it.”

“One thing I am sure of is that I won't judge a dance reality show.”

“That's what the sari is about. Everything is covered, yet a peep of an ankle can be a turn on for men.”

“There are times when marriage is not such a comfortable place... But you find your way; you become a different person. You grow into it. And you have to work at marriage every day.”

“When I was 13 or 14, my mother used to gift me books that I was dying to read. Those are my most memorable birthday gifts.”

“When I was growing up, hand washing was a ritual, but now it's a necessity. A child dies every 15 seconds from preventable causes, which has got to stop.”