Pankaj Kapur Quotes

My children can do what they want to do.

We compare everything with what is being done in the West. Even the film reviews are written like that. It is sad because we are trying to belittle ourselves.

For a father, to separate from his son is not easy.

Our cinema is coming of age, and people are realizing we need to tell different stories differently and in fresh manner and not just do formula stuff and serve it to the audience.

I think younger generation is much smarter than us. I am happy and proud of my kids.

I have been rather selective, doing not more than two or thee films a year, so that leaves me with plenty of time to prep for my plays and theatre activities.

Drama should be taught in schools to have more artistic people.

While pursuing engineering, my passion for theatre grew. So, I told dad I wanted to pursue acting – ‘Do you really want to be an actor or are you drawn to the glamour?’ he asked. I convinced him of my passion and applied to film schools.

We have ambitions, we go on with our lives. We get married and have families. But I was interested to know what happens to those girls who become mothers and grandmothers. They sacrificed their self at a time when they were young and healthy.

We’ve not given any attention to the people in their 50s and 60s, who need attention, education and engagement, in terms of the society and in terms of their identity as human beings.

If you want a good play and a show, you need time to prep for it. Artistes must be allowed to practice without being charged for the practice sessions. Let the auditorium charge for the tickets.

I became a writer out of the desire to express myself.

As far as I am concerned the best thing that any person can have, and which I think my son has, is commitment to work and also the attitude towards it.

I am human and get insecure because I am a middle class man and I need to feed my family and acting is the only job I know.

The desire to hear a story, and a story well told, triumphs over Internet, film and television sometimes.

To be very objective, I am here in this field for thirty five years, and I always knew that Shahid has an incredible capability as an actor.

We have had examples in our industry of people working for 30-40 years because of their ability to act. Your looks leave you after a point, you don’t look the same way you did when you were in your 20s or 30s. After that you have only your ability to show.

There are millions of people in the world, I have only played a few of them.

I agree I’d like to do more work. But the right kind of roles has to be offered to me. I’m not saying the roles need to be realistic all the time, though that’s what I like connecting with on screen.

My job is that of an actor. As long as I get to act, get some interesting parts to play, get to be a part of interesting stories, I would certainly want to do it.

Small events and some songs and dance do not make a film. A film needs to have a proper structure and there has to be an output which would be relevant to people who watch it.

‘Jersey‘ is a very strong story and is driven by emotions.

The Urdu or Hindustani language we use isn’t popular in theatre these days. It was a language that was being used in cinema from the 1950s until the ’80s. It is a very communicative language.

When I was doing theatre in Mumbai, actors won‘t come because they had television. For many years, I did theatre religiously and in Mumbai, I saw people disrespecting it and it hurt me very badly.

I enjoy playing different kind of people.

‘Mausam’ is about seasons of love and not exactly about the weather.

As an actor, I am not comfortable with an artificial beard.

I admit TV is a far cry from the films that I started my career with, like ‘Ek Doctor Ki Maut.’ It’s like reading Chekov and then going on to a comic strip.

I have always taken up films that I like. And in the process if I have done films which bring out something that could do society good, I think it’s great.

In India, writers are underpaid. Universities should start new courses to create more opportunities for them.

I am a father who never pushes or forces his children into anything.

I feel you need to treat children as equals instead of giving them a complex – you are young, you are small, you don’t know.’

When you get confidence from your director, as an actor, it is all a matter of how your director says, ‘This is how much I can get out of you.’

There is a perception that I do certain kind of films. That’s not true. I am open to any good scripts with a good role.

Delhi is where I began practising theatre, it is always special to perform in the capital.

Over centuries, we have attached too many meanings to religion.

Every actor must go through the process of learning and not just be in a hurry to become famous. They should learn to live in small amounts and not to try and copy others.

I don’t want to do films where I’m just there with nothing much to do.

As an actor, I have always felt, everything is available in the script. If there is anything you feel the script lacks, you can have a discussion with the director and point out those.

My son has been wiser than me in terms of his career graph. He saw to it that he became a star first and start to get all the roles that he wanted to do.

When you ask me why I do one film a year, it is not my fault. I’ve chosen what I liked from whatever work came my way.

In the 80s, parallel cinema gained momentum. So, I got back to films and won National awards for Maqbool’ and other films.

Back in the 1990s, I had an opportunity to make a film. But I realized that it is better for me to go in stages so I could explore myself as an actor and in the process I started writing scripts.

The least anyone can do is pay attention to their parents and people who are elder to them.

My friend Akshay Upadhyay and I used to write poetry and read out to each other.

I must say that Bengaluru has been one of the best places where I’ve performed and I would love to associate with the theatre scene here on a personal level.

As long as the character is interesting and I have something to do as an actor, there is no reason to turn it down.

It’s a bit unusual that I’m the novelist and the actor who is reading out his own material.

School days were very special to me as I never found the time to complete my graduation.

I’ve been saying yes to almost every interesting script that comes my way.