I am not Sharukh-Pankaj kapoor

Is good cinema good story-telling or good entertainment?
I have always said, a large section of our cinema for a very long time, especially from the 70s to the 90s, became like the annual day function of a school or college (laughs). There should be two songs, one skit, one dance number, one comedian, one serious mother-son relationship. But story-telling is a totally different thing. We have to do 'selective realism'. We need to be original, create something from our own culture. I always say, if you keep looking towards the west, you'll never see the sunrise.

Can you give an example where you added to a character and the director agreed?
See in Maqbool we worked out every little detail. When the script came to me, one of the things I mentioned to Vishal was, look, we are talking about this guy as a powerhouse, as somebody people are scared of, but there is no scene where we see a glimpse of his ferociousness. Vishal wrote the paan-stuffing scene after this discussion. My point was that for one second, we should be able to see that Abbaji was a guy who could kill for a lark.

In the last 5 - 7 years, give me the names of some Indian films you have liked.
Lagaan. Rang De Basanti. Dil Chahta Hai. Recently, Taare Zameen Par. Strangely all of them have Aamir Khan. I liked Dharam of which I was a part. Then I really liked the Munnabhai series. Hera Pheri was also good fun.

You are said to be a very picky actor.
I am. It may be my strength or weakness. I cannot work without a script. I never have. I need a clear outline of character. It was very difficult in the early years when I was given small story outlines and even smaller outlines of character. I kept refusing till I got a script I could make head or tail of. It is a weakness. There are actors who do a wonderful job with minimal information. The difference is most of them almost always play themselves. I say Pankaj Kapur is not charming or interesting enough for my audience to say we're okay with seeing him in every role. I am not a Shah Rukh Khan or a Rajesh Khanna

http://www.indiafm.com/features/2008/01/28/3516/index.html