Quotes from Ajith Kumar

I don't want to put up this act of being a voracious reader, which I am not.

I like to work with people who want to make films because they are passionate about films and not because they want to sell films and make money. I am not for people who get the most saleable actor and then the most saleable director and sell the film.

I am pretty expressive with my emotions. I don't think something and say something else. I don't know if it's something I should be proud of or to watch out for. Maybe I am not politically correct. I don't know if that's a crime.

If you look at it closely, 'Mankatha' is a politically incorrect film. It explores the darker side of the human mind, and I think, while watching it, people are, in a sense, redeeming themselves of their own guilt.

I know that there are people in the industry who praise me in person and then stab me in the back.

I am not in competition with anybody; I just want to be productive.

I rarely give interviews. I am against doing television interviews or chatting on the Net, even to promote my films. This is my personal decision, and it is not to hurt or embarrass anybody.

I am glad that mankind on the whole are dreamers.

I need a producer who will look for a good script. I need a director whose purpose to make a film is not for his survival but because he loves making films.

Success is like a wild horse. If you do not know how to handle it, it will throw you off and look for another rider who can handle it well.

I don't want the child in me to die. Fortunately, I'm lucky enough that my profession allows me to pursue my boyhood fantasies even as an adult.

I would not say I was not interested in studies - it just wasn't there in me to pursue academics. I would open a page in the textbook and start thinking about everything under the sun except what was there in the book. I was more into extra-curricular activities and sports like NCC, rifle shooting, aero-modelling, bike racing, etc.

As a child, I always wanted to be a race car pilot.

I have become a fatalist in life, so I don't try to set goals.

Success is very intoxicating. It is very difficult to handle all the fame and adulation. It corrupts you. You start to believe that everybody around you is in awe of you, that everybody wants you, and that everybody is thinking of you all the time.

Filmmaking, I often like to say, is like Russian roulette. You never know what you'll get. The only thing you can do is find solace in the fact that, irrespective of the film's response, you work hard to make the money you do.

I am in movies basically for the money, and frankly, I have a hard time believing those who say they act for the love of acting!

'Villain' succeeded because we were genuinely working towards a good film. We worked hard and with a lot of conviction.

When a fan buys a ticket for a cricket match or a movie, he is not worried about the colour, creed, or religion of the person sitting next to him. If you look at any actor's fan base in India, you will find that they are from different regions.

Honeymoons are great, but they don't last. And I think the same is true with success on the screen - today, I am all over the place; tomorrow, I may be gone - I may have to make room for someone else. So why make a big song and dance about it all?

I have a lot of respect for people, and I feel they are far more sensible and responsible than to ape or imitate somebody.

I was the first person from my family to enter films. So, everything connected with films was new to me, including fans and fan clubs.

I don't work for the commercial success of the film. I work to satisfy my producers who give me the money. I work to satisfy the director who has written a script for me. Of course, I have to satisfy the actor in me, but I want to satisfy them first.

Aren't we all dreamers? It's only because man dreamt of flying that we are travelling in planes. Behind all inventions, we see the dreams of people.