People claim that no good actors came out of FTII after Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi. What they don't know is that the acting course was closed for 26 years and reopened only in 2004.

The kind of films I am doing are moderately budgeted and are with A-listers.

What I believe is to keep working. How a film performs at the box office is not in my control: what is in my control is my work, how much honesty I can bring on-screen. I am happy people love me.

I want to go higher in my career. This is not my best. My best is yet to come.

A lot of preparation was needed to play the character of Omar Sheikh in Omerta. I watched a lot of documentaries and hate speeches to cultivate anger in me.

What's the fun in doing conventional things? I would rather be known as someone who is unconventional. I like being unconventional. I like doing things which are different. That's what I like... It gives me a boost as an actor.

I don't take pressure. I can't really work under pressure. I do one film at a time, and I try to live in that character and in the moment. I am not a futuristic person who thinks what is going to happen after five years. And I don't live in the past.

My parameter of judging a script has not changed over the years. I still go for a script where the story interests me. Yes, there are times where I might go wrong; say, out of five scripts, I might go wrong on one.

When you are successful, the perception of the people around you changes. If I do a variety of work, people notice me differently, and that is what is happening. I am fortunate to get these opportunities.

I am the same person who came to this city Mumbai a few years ago to act in Hindi films, and I am just continuing doing that. I did not change as a person. All that happens is people change around me.