Cinematic Artistry Quotes

I want to remind people that we create films for the MMFF as gifts to them, not to see whose entry is better or which film earned more at the tills.

I make movies for teenage boys. Oh dear, what a crime.

Making 'Sweetback' took an exorbitant amount of energy and time.

I like movies made by Spike Lee - doing those films out of the U.S., that is really daring.

The directing is something that is incredibly satisfying to me and challenging to me because it's asking me to draw on everything I've been able to absorb over all these years of acting and having all this set experience.

People confuse 'pretty' with good cinematography.

A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later.

Look, I'm just a storyteller. When I make a film, I never want the film to become a vehicle of social propaganda.

The most creative director I have worked with is Mani Ratnam.

Whether it's TV shows or the films that I've done, it's always a priority for me that the entire script should be good.

You can't improvise without a skeletal structure; you can't just go in and start talking. This is a very misunderstood craft because no one else makes movies like this.

To be a director, you have to think you're the best. Ever since I went to film school, I imagined that you have to think deep down that you want to be Martin Scorsese or you want to be P.T. Anderson. Like, am I as good as those guys? Absolutely not. I feel like I keep learning, and I feel like I keep getting better.

I enjoy scenes in films, which do not have the pressure of the story so much... and it flows. I've tried to go in that direction.

People don't want to always see a comedy or an action film. If the film in a particular genre is made well, then it will see its share of success.

Movies are a voyeuristic experience. You have to make the audience feel like they are peeking through a keyhole. I think of myself as the audience. Then I use light, framing, and motion to create a focal point.

Really, it's the director's job to disappear and allow the movie to just feel.

I've certainly worked with really great directors who haven't acted.

Every movie I've done, it's always the same criteria: finding a great story, and finding a great part to play.

Mohan Raja is an interesting filmmaker. He is constantly, if I may use the word, contradicting himself. He explains a scene, and then he will try to break that and rebuild it. That, to me, is filmmaking. Every scene is constructed after a lot of discussions.

With movies, so much of it is, 'Who is the human being that is going to be directing it?' Because it is their medium. In a way, you are serving the director, and when it is someone that you feel you can have a lot of confidence in, it can make a big difference.

I was mesmerised by South cinema and the kind of work is done out here.

There's never been a mathematical equation that says a good experience making a movie equates to a good movie, or a bad experience on a set is going to lead to a bad movie.

I was very fortunate in the '70s to work with the best actors, the best directors, the best cinematographers.

I'm proud of 'Sinister' because Scott and Cargill did a great job on the movie, and I set up a framework for them to make what they wanted to make. They gave me the idea, and I figured out how to get it out into the world.

'Aashiq' is a romantic film, even though my character is a rather aggressive guy. You could even call it an intense romance. And working with Indra Kumar has been an excellent experience. He is a great director.