I Had A Confused Childhood: SAJID KHAN

Sajid Khan took his complex childhood in his stride and chose the groovy world of Bollywood instead. The director tells us why he only thinks 'big' and prefers passion over purity.

Crime and Bollywood "I had a confused childhood - Farah and I lived in a small house in Shivaji Nagar, but we went to a fancy school. I studied and hung out with a band of misfits. It's surprising I didn't turn towards crime. Cinema was my escape. I was so crazy about films that I used to enact film scenes at Juhu beach and earn a few bucks for it."

Confident or cocky? "When I say I don't need critical acclaim or awards, people think I'm overconfident. But it's just that I love films, I love filmmaking and I know my audience. I'm only answerable to my viewers. That's why I can claim that my films will be big hits. I promised the cast of Housefull 2 that it'd be the biggest hit of their careers - all, except Boman. He was in 3 Idiots, and I don't think I'll make a film that crosses '202 crores."

Akshay's the lucky boy "People shouldn't write Akshay off. It's always the film that fails, not the actor. People haven't used his talent to the fullest. No one can portray Akshay the way I can."

The true Himmatwala... "I've seen Himmatwala 36 times. the movie had a great impact on me. I didn't have money to eat food, but I watched the movie. I'm taking key elements from the original and re-writing the film. I bet it'll earn '10 crores more than Housefull 2 and it'll be the biggest hit of Ajay's career. And the heroine will be the Sridevi of 2013."

Patching up the Khan-daan "Farah-SRK's controversy was being misconstrued and it was getting out of hand. It was making national headlines and that was ridiculous. It had to be resolved. I called Gauri and asked her whether Farah and I could meet SRK to sort things out. She told me Farah didn't need permission to go home (Mannat). We went over and ever since it feels like nothing ever happened."

The social outlaw "I don't go for trial shows, parties and events. I'm uncomfortable and feel out of place at such events. The only people who turn up for such occasions are people who care about getting clicked by the paparazzi. I don't even have an account on a social networking site. Stars on networking sites are the ones who don't have films or need to create hype about their films."

'Courting' controversies "I've never admitted to being in a relationship. I was misquoted in the papers. I'm a private person and I respect women immensely. In my 20s, I didn't treat women well. I had a roving eye. I missed out on some life-changing women because of my attitude towards them. Women are far stronger than men. They can take physical and mental abuse (not that it's acceptable), but the only thing they can't take is another woman in their man's life."

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