Quotes from Rajkumar Hirani

I like playing with languages and dialects as we have so many in India. Adding a dialect just makes the dialogues more colorful.

At the end of the day, you don't remember 'Mother India' or 'Pyaasa' for the business it did, you remember them because they had a good story to tell.

As writers, we are sketching people all the time when we write fiction.

Writers should be respected.

My natural bend is to get attracted towards things that have been an influence in my life.

Nagpur was a very small town. There was no exposure to different kinds of films or world cinema. Only Manmohan Desai films.

It is impossible to know what people will like. No market research, formulas will help, it's best to stop guessing.

I would say films inspire me more than the makers.

Making a film confusing does not make it intelligent.

I'm absolutely open to scripts written by someone else.

I grew up in Nagpur, and I first started enjoying the author Harishankar Parsai. He wrote mostly satire, essays on the current situation and social issues. He wrote many books and I think he was my first influence.

When I make a film, the yardstick is my mind. If I laugh at the jokes and feel sad at the serious undersides, then the subject works.

After I finish any film, I move to the next one. It takes about a year to write and another six months are for pre-production and other things. You need a minimum of two-and-a-half months for the shooting of a new film. Then, I also edit my own film.

I completely work on the basis of my intuition. I don't think I premeditate a success formula. There is no formula to make a successful film.

An editor does not just join shots. He creates emotions out of the shots.

Every film is a journey.

Any holiday seems like a guilt trip.

See, most films are about achievers. You see a film like 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' or 'Dhoni.' Even 'Gandhi,' or the biopic on Lincoln. They end in triumph, on a high.

So you know, as a filmmaker you have to get it all right in the writing stage. After that, one has to leave it on the judgement of your trusted ones and the audiences.

A lot of medical problems are solved if doctors are nice to patients. If you can make them think positive, you may not need medication.

I feel some people are cynical by nature. You show them anything, they only see the problems and negatives.

Like every father who wants his son to be either an engineer or a doctor, my father wanted me to become a doctor. I never did.

I have been in advertising and I know my craft well, but ultimately in cinema every scene has to matter, and that has to do with the writing.

I spent five years after '3 Idiots' making my next film. I didn't see a single penny in those five years.