I am first and foremost an actress of Indian origin.

Everything big-budget or stereotypical I was offered after 'Slumdog Millionaire' was a huge no-no.

Young women who want an education will not be stopped

I'm proud of myself. I like the way I'm made.

As the worlds getting filled with temptations, were getting a bit frivolous and a bit fickle.

I'll never forget where I'm from. It's essential to remain humble and evolving.

More than anything else, if you can spend a great deal of dedicated time observing people without judgment, that can be a great way of learning.

The only thing I can pride myself on is making a really good breakfast.

One of my favorite actors is Javier Bardem, he always challenges his previous roles, and basically does the unexpected.

I think it's important to be extremely proud of one's origins, especially when you are a foreign actress with ethnic features.

Here's another secret - I have really big feet. I'm a size ten, so every opportunity I get I buy myself shoes.

Most suffering comes from the failure to adapt and a resistance to change.

You need to keep you mind at peace and be sure what you do is your passion.

The way this whole novel thing came together was, I sold them one bill of goods and then didn't communicate very well. I am like Captain Run-on Sentence.

There’s only one thing in life, and that’s the continual renewal of inspiration.

Over time you realize that some people just aren't worth it anymore.

I'll end discriminatory laws like the Hyde Amendment that make it all but impossible for low-income women - disproportionately, women of color - to exercise their rights.

I like my politicians and my judges and my lawyers to be simple. I think if you worry about where your hemline is you're really not concentrating on the world crisis.

When I heard Charlie Parker the first time on a record, it had seemed like an old, scratchy kind of record and I didn't get it.

Fiji had experienced the ordeal of two military coups.

And the other issue is Gore, $4.6 trillion - the single largest expansion of government in American history, from universal preschool, now, to prescriptions to health care - it is Socialism 101.