Dev Anand Quotes

A film should always at least be about something.

I don't think good films have messages.

Cinema is not about format, and it's not about venue. Cinema is an approach. Cinema is a state of mind on the part of the filmmaker. I've seen commercials that have cinema in them, and I've seen Oscar-winning movies that don't. I'm fine with this.

You can't make a film for your personal satisfaction. That is why I detest the cinema of people like Mani Kaul.

My responsibility is to make a film and find my dramatic language; I don't have any political or social responsibility.

A lot of more modern films seem to just be out for violence or sex or what have you, without relating it to what's going within human beings. But every now and then one comes along that does that, and it's a joy.

I think my films are always quite self-reflexive and always question 'why am I doing this, is this the right way to do it, what is cinema for, does it have a purpose?'

I didn't want people to sit there and watch 10 minutes of film, and all they write about is 48 frames.

But actually I make films that I think are extremely sophisticated and cinematic.

I found it very difficult to explain to someone why you did a film. It's not like having a conversation.

All movies are pure process. A commercial movie isn't less process than an art movie. You can't make your decisions about a film on the basis of, 'Is it important enough? Is it serious enough?' It's either alive or it's not for me. If it's alive, I want to do it.

You can be a smarty-pants director, but that won't matter if the movie doesn't work emotionally as well as intellectually.

There's no point in making films unless you intend to show us something special, otherwise just go out and watch a play.

I know that movies are basically meant to be entertainment, but I'm not that interested in entertainment.

I get people saying, 'Opera is too large a canvas for me. I don't love it. I love movies that feel almost like documentaries,' in terms of artistic vocabularies of storytelling. I totally get that discussion; that makes sense to me.

I don't want to do a history lesson. I don't think cinema should be about that. Cinema should be about emotions.

It could be sci-fi, love story, historical drama what counts for me is the fact that they're made by great directors with a great point of view who bring the audience to be elevated and at the same time entertained. That's what cinema is.

No matter how big or new they are, I always look for the intention of the filmmaker first. Their intention has to be in the right place.

I know that I put a lot into 'Hereditary', and I'm proud of what it is. Beyond the fact that the film takes its time and asks for a certain amount of patience from the audience - and I hope it rewards that patience by the end - I know that I'm something of an aesthete. I care about aesthetics, and I love filmmaking.

I was criticised for making 'Devdas' so ostentatious. But stark and realistic cinema isn't the only real cinema in this country.

Cinema is a medium that can translate ideas.

Filmmaking, like any other art, is a very profound means of human communication; beyond the professional pleasure of succeeding or the pain of failing, you do want your film to be seen, to communicate itself to other people.

Good directors don't answer questions with their work. They generate debate and create discussion.

You set out to tell a good story. You don't do it because there is a deep message involved because the movie is almost always bad when you do that.

Cinema is a territory. It exists outside of movies. It's a place I live in. It's a way of seeing things, of experiencing life. But making films, that's supposed to be a profession.