Kunal Kapoor

Yes, I started out as a production assistant, going on to become an assistant director. And while assisting, I spent more time in front of the camera than behind it. If someone wanted their lines read, I was the one reading them. If a character artiste or a junior artiste didn't turn up, I would be hanging in the background.

I never got a chance to do comedy in my films.

The sad part is that every time people see me, they think either I have had a bad childhood or I'm schizophrenic. So they offer me parts that are slightly dark or serious.

I think the most important thing for an actor is your personality and if someone wants you to change that, then you have lost the battle!

Directors who offered me films, suggested that I should look a certain way, because they think that there's a particular look for Hindi film actors and that's how I should look like.

It can't be a film on Kashmir and suddenly you are rolling down a mountain, singing poetry to a pretty babe. I don't want that, bas.

I don't mind singing, dancing, rolling down mountains, running around trees... though I'm really bad at it. However, I can't suddenly start doing some random stuff in the middle of a serious scene.

I am hands on with my kids; I have washed my son's bottom. I have changed his nappies... that is the kind of relationship I had with my father.

Our father was an integral part of our life.

Dad never worked on Sundays. He spent the whole day with the family. We would have all three meals together. He never invited his friends over on Sunday.

I did not know how popular my father was because we were not brought up as part of the industry.

My wife is a classically trained pianist and I have always wanted to be a singer. But whenever I sing, people are like, 'Can you please shut up!'

Telling stories comes naturally to me.

Meditation drastically improves your concentration level and you don't get stressed easily.

When I started out, I was toying with different professions without really knowing what I wanted to do. Advertising and movies happened by coincidence.

I think none of the politicians do anything for the country. All they want to do is fill their coffers. But then again, corruption arises at every level. We cannot always blame the government because we also indulge in corruption at our level.

I'm aware of politics in our country; I'm not totally disoriented about it. But my knowledge comes from newspapers.

We need a stronger legal system with lesser loopholes. Abroad, we have seen politicians getting prosecuted, no matter at what level they are at. But in India, politicians do not fear the system at all. They can do anything and get away with it.

A thing that troubles me is party alliances. A party has a certain ideology and we vote according to that. But after the voting process, some parties merge for their own reasons and betray the voters.

I learnt the importance of team effort in making a film.

There used to be a cheesy series called 'Planet X Chromosome.' It's about a planet that has only women. That's where I would like to be, even if it was crowded.

Scotland through the eyes of an artist is a many layered series of discoveries. It's stunning castles, mystical landscape, secret glens and tucked within gems like its reclusive distilleries.

If I had it my way, I'd go bald and shave off my stubble.

You have to try different things, meet different people, and travel to new places in order to grow.

I am incredibly inquisitive and need to constantly explore.

It's nice to eat Punjabi cuisine as it's not only tasty but also quite healthy.

I'm a struggling poet. I've never shown my work to anyone. I write it all for myself and I'm not interested in showing it to anyone.

I read and write a lot.

The range of Shakespeare's characters is just enormous. Each one of them, whether it's a man or woman, prince or pauper, hero or anti hero, is so complex, layered and yet deeply identifiable.

The first play that I was ever a part of was 'Hamlet.'

If we can use our celebrity status to sell cola, soap and chips, why can't we sell a dream?

The length of the role does not matter, the subject matters.

When someone like Tigmanshu Dhulia or Jairam Nair offers me a role, then that's the kind of work I want to do.

I don't want to work for the sake of it.

I would love to play an out-and-out villain because I have always been perceived as the good guy.

When I was young, I used to be very shy but when it came to narrating stories, I used to be very animated.

I always had a fascination for stories.

Learning to fly takes a lot of work, but there is something spiritual and calming about flying.

I have a list of things I want to experience and being a pilot was right on top of that list.

Pour a glass of Scotch and all the treasures of the world are in your hands. What more does one need?

Scotland's been on my bucket list forever.

Scotland's relationship to its whiskies are about identity and a cultural ethos. It is rooted in the land: the elements, its produce and its way of life. A sense of conviviality that is about community and camaraderie without borders. Perhaps this explained why great whisky, great food and good company are inseparable.

I love telling stories.

I love being in the movies.

There have been ups and downs like there are in every actor's career. There have been some great opportunities and then there have been some mis-opportunities. There's been times where you have felt a great amount of success and there have been times of failures as well but I wouldn't be anywhere else.

People feel that actors are very powerful but I don't think that's true because someone writes the content for you and comes to you with a script, then someone produces, directs and gives music... which might be successful or not successful.

As an outsider, it is not like you have a support system of friends and family who will make something to sort of push your career. That is not going to happen.

I have always been a fitness-conscious person.

My energy boosters: It may seem childish but every time I watch all the training scenes from the film 'Rocky,' I instantly feel pumped up. Also, any track from 'Rocky' instantly does the trick for me whenever I am feeling down or need a jolt of inspiration.

My biggest inspirations: Sylvester Stallone for his body, Jackie Chan for his agility, flexibility. Closer home, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff and Vidyut Jamwal have amazing bodies.