FARHAN AKHTAR

I think it is important to play a sport. Apart from the joy of it, it helps keep you fit.

Difficulty does not deter me. In fact, I find challenges exciting.

Filmmaking, whatever the window dressing or the scale of a film may be, is eventually about telling a story.

If you are a doctor or farmer, be sincere about your profession. If you can do what you do honestly, you will end up serving your country.

I love ice cream and gulab jamuns.

I like to make films with characters that resemble real people, about societies that exist.

I think if you believe in an idea, then you should put it out there and be as original to the thought as possible without worrying about the risk.

'Dil Chahta Hai' was too raw. We only thought about the film. We never thought where the film was going to go. We wanted to make a film on our own terms.

The Ladakhis, as a people, are quite laidback.

As much as a man would like to believe that he understands women, there is simply that much that he can write from their point of view or really understand them.

'Deewar' has been remade so many times, 'Trishul' has been remade so many times. But 'Don' - no one has gone into this area as often as they have gone into these other movies, and I think it fits into the modern sensibility of movie viewing quite well.

To me, 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' is definitely a landmark. It has taught me so much.

I feel with 'Don 2' I got an opportunity to do a very good action with the kind of pace that I would like an action film to have.

After 'Rock On!,' when I started acting, and I sang in the film, people asked me, 'What was the need to sing in your film?' and things like that. I really don't have an answer for it. In terms of what made me do it? It just felt like the right thing to do.

From being in a film and shooting to just being in a studio with my guitar and musicians was a welcome change.

To hear someone talk about their life - you get to know the way their eyes moisten up, how big the smile is or how comfortable their body language is while talking to someone.

I think, the world over, new ideas have come from young people. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it is rare that new or radical ideas come from old people.

Everyone has a Milkha Singh in them.

If you had a fabricated story coming out every two weeks or every month, it would affect you. You would be like, 'What's the problem with people?' or 'Why can't they let me be?' And that's the thought that comes into anyone's mind.

Amitabh Bachchan was the coolest character in every movie.

People want a certain amount of respect when they watch a film: it should be worth of their time.

Every movie gets exactly what it deserves.

Indian food beats everything else, in my book. The kinds of cuisine our country offers is just amazing. Every single dish has a variation depending on what region you go to, and that excites me the most about Indian food.

Being a parent to my daughters, son to my parents, and friends to many people, I would wish for a society that's fair to everyone, that's free of prejudice and as non-divisive as possible.

When I take up a film, I always think of the effect it will have on my children when they see the film years later.