The casting of 'Slumdog Millionaire' is a dream. Anil Kapoor, as the sleazy TV host, diamonds winking in his earlobes, has never been better; the quietly understated Irrfan Khan turns in another bravura performance as the police inspector whose questioning brings out Jamal's story.
Working with Thiagarajan Kumararaja in 'Super Deluxe' was absolutely mind-blowing.
You win an Oscar, and the movie that comes after that is always going to be compared.
'Beasts of the Southern Wild' was one of those films that I felt like I could dismiss because it received so many accolades, but then I watched it and was won over.
To me, an Oscar movie has to have some type of emotional pull.
I'm very proud of 'Calvary.' It's been doing well; it has legs. It's no easy ride. It packs a punch, this one.
I like Rob Morgan in 'Mudbound.' Most of the attention being paid to this movie has focused on Rachel Morrison's cinematography and Mary J. Blige's stiff but intensely stoical performance.
Everybody said that a film that funny can't win because normally your Cannes winner will be something more serious. It's not very often that a film that's bordering on comedy has won in Cannes.
I, for one, personally like rom-coms, silly rom-coms, but at the same time, I also want to watch a documentary or an award-winning drama.
I'd like to make a great movie. I've made many movies. I think I've made some good movies, but I never felt I've made a great movie.
'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' is not a direct-to-video, low-budget sequel: it's a big film. And it'd be fantastic to have the opportunity to see it on the IMAX screens at the same time, and IMAX has made arrangements with us for that to happen.
Hany Abu-Assad was sitting next to me, and his film 'Paradise Now' had won the Golden Globe. He said to me at the Globes, 'Paradise now, talk to you later.' [laughs] I gave him a big hug for that.
I had a lot of respect for Jeremy Renner as an actor before I worked with him, because I was very impressed with what he did in 'The Hurt Locker.'
My first movie. I think I won an Oscar for this.
I really liked Priyanka Chopra in 'Barfi!'
Here's the thing: 'The Hurt Locker' was an amazing, important film. But did I enjoy it? Of course not. It was very tough to watch and, while gripping, not exactly what you'd call a happy place.
No matter how many movies I do, 'Kakka Muttai' will be one of my best movies.
It's impossible to tell you what I'm going to do except to say that I expect to make the best movie ever made.
Soon after 'Paruthiveeran' I was flooded with scripts that were almost the same as the award-winning film. I had offers from Malyalam, Telugu and Kannada filmmakers. But I had to be firm and in fact I realized that now I had to be more careful with my choice of films because I have raised the audience expectations.
Once a film is selected at Cannes, the crossover becomes very easy, thanks to the prestige and dignity it gains at Cannes.
Traffic is one of the most powerful films to come out in recent years. It blew me away.
My favorite film is 'All About Eve'.
Although the Academy prefers their Best Pictures grounded in realism, not fantasy, Lee's 'Life of Pi' win proved that the voters understand and appreciate the qualities a visionary director needs to create an otherworldly adventure.
After winning so many debut awards, I never thought I would win for 'Ishaqzaade.'
'Sugar Cane Alley' had a lot of international success, big success everywhere.
