Be it Dharavi, Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin or Chameli and even KKC and now Tera Kya…, Mumbai is a recurring backdrop for your stories.
Mumbai is the only place where Indians are allowed to kind of reinvent themselves. There is a preset thing about Indians having to be this or that in all other places, including the metros. For instance, if you are born into a particular family in Kolkata, you have to follow certain behavioral patterns, but in Mumbai you can lose yourself and be anonymous. You can reinvent yourself and become someone else. That’s the magic of the city and it also has all the contradictions of this country. Its problems are not hidden or camouflaged like in Delhi. It’s a wonderful place that has allowed me to be who I am and that’s why I always come back and do my bit for the city.

Which directors have excited you with their work?
I would always watch out for directors like Raju Hirani, who’s simply brilliant; Anurag Kashyap despite what people say about No Smoking; Ashutosh Gowariker, Nikhil Advani, Jaidep Sahni’s work as a writer, which is very interesting, Navdeep Singh, who made Manorama Six Feet Under. I am sure one day Sanjay Leela Bhansali will make a great film. He hasn’t made a great film yet, irrespective of what his admirers say but one day when he has more confidence, stops being excessive, does not want to prove what a big master he is… that day he will make a great film. I believe that because he is a director, who’s at least in search of a language and wants to tell a story visually and has a specific style.