Top 66 Priyadarshan Quotes

I am comfortable in Tamil.

Every actor has his or her own style, so it is the duty of the director to mould it the way they want.

In the history of Indian cinema I am the only South Indian director who has survived for 12 years and 25 films in Bollywood.

Most stars are bad. Even a few big heroes I have seen are dumb.

I have a fascination for cartoons. No matter how many times ‘Tom and Jerry’ fall, you never complain, and watch it again.

I have come to make Hindi films to cater to a certain kind of audience, which looks for entertainment. I feel my strength here as a director will fail if I ever try something experimental.

As for ‘Garam Masala,’ everybody knows what kind of film it is. It’s the type where you keep your brains at home.

Mohanlal can play anything, and it’s not ‘playing’ – it’s becoming the character.

Mohan Lal is my favorite actor, so if I am saying that Salman has performed better, you can believe how much he has done. Salman is better looking, so that’s his plus point. Lal is the more realistic actor, but Salman is a better dancer. So there are things you can’t compare. Both are good in their own way.

Whatever I have achieved is all thanks to my team. I always say that I don’t repeat actors as often as I repeat my technicians.

Realistic non-commercial films offer you a lot more liberty as a director than a usual film.

In front of the camera, I find it difficult. As far as the actors are concerned, it is easy for them to do it but not for me.

Ideally, I like to make my films within 30-40 days, because if it takes longer than that, everyone involved loses interest.

There is a scarcity of writers in Bollywood.

When I made ‘Hera Pheri,’ there was a huge poverty in Hindi cinema for comedies.

In Hindi film industry, the maximum one can do is try and make a film like ‘Badhaai Ho’ or ‘Andhadhun,’ but if I want to make something of the level of ‘Kanchivaram’ it is impossible. If I will make that kind a film, it will have no traction.

In spite of not taking big stars, I have survived in the industry.

Many times when you request an actor to do a film, they show respect to you, offer you coffee and nicely they will avoid you because maybe they don’t trust you.

How many remakes are really successful? From 100, 98 are failures. That’s because those films are remade without taking into consideration the sensibilities of the audience. I don’t do that.

A lot of times, projects happen just to influence the distributors or buyers.

People expect a lot from a commercial director. It’s not right to always expect another ‘Viraasat’ from me.

When the actors look your character, half the problems are solved.

If you want to sell a film, you have to make it in an exaggerated way. Otherwise, you have to make it for your own satisfaction.

I feel bored if I sit for 10 days at home. I take only 30 days off for my family in a year.

I am very stressed while working; I never see what is happening around me.

Personally, I don’t claim to be a great director. My films are made for children, not intellectuals.

I make films for money and fame. But I made ‘Kanjeevaram’ for recognition.

Because of the excellent training in Malayalam cinema, where we have very tight budgets, you are forced to make it work in a small budget and at the same time you have to tell the story effectively.

Mohanlal has nothing left to prove. He has won many awards.

I enjoy making films. I have made all kinds of films, including action films, romantic films, period films like ‘Kala Pani.’

I am scared of my overconfidence.

In Kerala, people are more educated, so you can have subtlety in Malayalam films.

‘Hulchul’ is a family comedy. You can call it ‘humor around families.’

When I saw the original versions of ‘Virasat’ and ‘Gardish,’ I felt the content was so good but that they had shot the films very badly. I knew that if I could get such content, I could shoot it much better. That was what I did.

What attracts me to Hindi films is the monetary benefits connected with it.

See, I am an ardent fan of David Lean. I cannot do a shot like David Leans’ in a Malayalam film because the budget does not permit me. Those dreams, I mean the glossy dreams of mine, can be fulfilled only in Hindi films.

In ‘Snehithiye,’ I adopted a Hitchcockian approach on the premise that a woman’s only friend after marriage is her husband.

When I look at all my old films, I feel as if they’re badly done, because I have improved.

I’ve done so many genres of films in my career; I’ve done 91 films so far. But never a thriller. That’s how ‘Oppam’ happened.

Mohanlal and I have done nearly 40 films together, many of them comedies.

I decided not to work with those who do not believe in me.

No big Hindi film star wants to work with me. They are busy with their own dreams.

I thank my dad for giving me a good exposure to comedy since childhood. He was a librarian and I would read a lot of comics.

When I did a film with Salman Khan, he used to get up at 5 in the morning for shoots. If I can handle Salman then I think nobody in the industry is a problem.

I felt shaky, then ‘Hungama’ worked, and I signed films left, right and centre to kill my insecurity.

Tamil films have to be faster than a Malayalam film but not as fast as a Hindi film.

With ‘Kanchivaram,’ I have tried to study why the dream of an equalitarian society was defeated by an individual’s aspirations.

Shah Rukh and I have been thinking of making something together, but nothing has materialized.

I always say I have so many known devils and I prefer them over unknown angels.

It is true that I got recognition. But however good the comedies are, nobody will accept a good comedy director as a good director. That is the sad part of it. Nobody knows who directed the ‘Laurel and Hardy’ movies. They know only Laurel and Hardy. Directors will never get a good name if they direct a comedy film.

My Hindi remakes are better than my originals except sometimes, the Malayalam actors perform better.

I feel it’s easier to scare or thrill people than to make them laugh.

I am not involved with ‘Hera Pheri 3.’ I have told the makers that I am not interested.

It is a lot more difficult to make a typical Bollywood film than a realistic film.

I was a great fan of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy; they always inspired me.

I’ve been a big dreamer from my childhood.

‘Hera Pheri’ is inspired by ‘Laurel and Hardy,’ Charlie Chaplin. It is about humor of poverty.

Every director will dream of doing films in Hollywood. I want to show my talents there, too.

I don’t put seriousness in Bollywood movies. Because in Bollywood, people want entertainment even if it has no meaning.

I feel something unusual is always attractive for people. But at the same time, it should be entertaining.

I was so sure ‘Doli Saja Ke Rakhna’ would do well, but when it didn’t I lapsed into depression.

I want to appeal to family audiences, I would never want to alienate women and kids.

I have made films on humor of poverty because I have lived in a lower middle class family.

One cannot survive in Bollywood without focusing on entertainment.

The trend the world over is comedy. People have enough tragedies in their lives.

Never make your actors do comical faces. Let them be serious and let the situations make people laugh.