Post 9/11, so much has changed in New York that it does not give you that homely feeling which it did before.

Never treat anything you do as a stepping stone. Do it fully, and follow it completely.

If we don't tell our own stories, no one else will.

Making films is about having absolute and foolish confidence; the challenge for all of us is to have the heart of a poet and the skin of an elephant.

It is because my roots are so strong that I can fly.

What is really important to me is a sense of humour and a mischief about life. Life is just too boring otherwise.

We all know the power of film; we all know there's almost nothing more powerful than to see people on film that look and talk like you, like we do.

We have to realize only in communication, in real knowledge, in real reaching out, can there be an understanding that there's humanity everywhere, and that's what I'm trying to do.

Christmas lights may be the loneliest thing for me, especially if you mix them up with reindeers and sleighs. I feel alone. I feel isolated. I feel I do not belong.

I am still attracted to stories about people who are considered to be on the outside of society. I still seek inspiration from those stories.

I grew up in a small town in India, but through books I knew the world.

Religion helps humanity to pass through its darkest times.

When you stick a song on a tape, you set it free.

When does complete awareness occur? When the ego departs.

Self-stigma refers to the state in which a person with mental illness has come to internalize the negative attitudes about mental illness and turns them against him- or herself.

I think it's important to keep things positive. Sometimes you don't win, and that sucks, and you work on improving.

Mistakes are made in every other human endeavor. Why should nuclear weapons be exempt?

If heavy metal bands ruled the world, we'd be a lot better off.

Treat praise like criticism: refuse to accept either.

Osama bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive.

Look to what you have around you and be grateful, instead of searching for more. All you take with you when you leave this world is love, friendship, and good deeds.