What got you started?
Doing a short film for a friend who was studying cinema. I had no inclination towards acting, but I said I'd help him out. I was the star, the assistant director and the camera assistant. I thought: "This is what I want to do."
What was your big breakthrough?
Making the film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (From Disaster to Disaster) in 1988. It was my first full-length film as an actor, the director was a first-timer, and so were most of the cast and crew. But it really set the box office ablaze.
Do you suffer for your art?
I've made mistakes: after Qayamat, I made a string of films that bombed, and was hugely unhappy. I'd weep every night, until my wife didn't know what to do with me. But I don't regret those choices: I learned a lot from them.
Does the term "Bollywood" display a lack of understanding of the Indian film industry?
Yes. It was coined some time in the 70s, by the Indian film media, as a very derogratory term. A few decades later it is being used all over the world – not necessarily in a derogatory way, but it doesn't reflect the variety of films being made in India. We have a generation of younger directors now challenging what is considered "Indian cinema". I've been doing that for 20 years, and my films all seem to do well, touch wood.
What is your greatest inspiration?
Various things: circus acts, a great piece of music, watching Federer play Nadal. Anything where I see a human being rising against the ordinary, in terms of skill, endurance or courage.
What advice would you give a young film-maker?
Always do what makes you happy. You spend at least two years on a film, and it's that process – not just the film's success or failure – that stays with you.
What's the worst thing anyone ever said about you?
The biggest complaint is that I have an enormous amount of stamina, and they can't keep up. They say I work insane hours, all through the night. It's true.
Which other artists do you most admire?
Philippe Starck, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Van Gogh.
Which work of art would you like to own?
The only piece of art I would like to own, I already do: my children.
In short
Born: Mumbai, 1965
Career: Films include Lagaan, 3 Idiots and Delhi Belly, which opens the London Indian film festival on Thursday. Details: londonindianfilm festival.co.uk.
High point: "My first film as a director, Taare Zameen Par. It was about a boy with dyslexia; it got a fantastic response, and actually changed government policy about learning disabilities."
