What is your mind space right now?
I'm at peace. I was at an ayurveda centre in Kerala a while ago, and followed their two-week detox programme. Now, I feel refreshed. There is this fundamental principle that drives me ­ we are not separated from Nature. I would suggest everyone to take time out and spend a few weeks in solitude. It helps to clear your mind.

You are making a biopic on Bruce Lee. What drew you to this film?
I feel Indians will have a deep connect with his philosophical disposition. Bruce Lee taught the world the importance of surrendering. He believed that in surrendering lies true victory. Not all battles are won with bloodshed and war. We must try this for a change.

Is it spirituality that you think will resonate with people, especially Indians?
It is important that audiences, especially today, relate their own lives to the journey of Lee and other philosophical masters. Spiritualism is big in India. And I am talking of the larger sense of it; one needs to understand that spiritualism has nothing to do with godmen and politics. It has a much deeper relevance. In the West, people look at India as a spiritual paradise. It's a shame that our people don't relate to it at that level. One must remember that it is not fashionable to be spiritual; it is important to be so.

What kept you from India for so long?
I am like a kite; I find it difficult to confine myself to just one place or surrounding. That's the reason why I like earthy women, who help me stay grounded. What drove me away from the Hindi film industry was too many people telling me what to do and not to. I missed making my own decisions, and felt my creative space was being compromised. Yet the contradictions present in this part of the world still intrigue me.

What contradictions?
In India, if you look to your right, you will see youngsters driving Bentleys; look to your left, and you will find starving children begging on streets. You realise that luck and chance have a huge role to play in determining your status.

Why are you so driven towards consciousness?
I have come to realise that in our consciousness lies the only truth. We are all knocking at the wrong door, pursuing the wrong things in life... the sooner we realise that, the better it is. This is not where we belong, we are created for something greater.

Is love a larger consciousness too, as an emotion?
Love, as an emotion, is as real as it can get. For me, love is and should be a mystery. Imagine a world where love could be decoded in simple words; wouldn't that be dull? It is we who try to destroy the emotion by making it definite. Love exists in freedom, in abandonment. If not, then what you are feeling is not love.

You speak on Twitter about everything, from physics to the mystical... What issues bother you?
The fact that we are still working on a skewed development model in this country. This is only creating a wider divide between the incredibly wealthy and the incredibly poor. We still have not been able to get rid of Western development models and find our own path.

You were born in Lahore and have often spoken about the idea of India, before Partition...
It has always been my dream. But I know it's not going to happen. The only way forward that I can see at the moment is through more trade and more cultural exchange.

You are known to be an actor's director. Who is the best actor that you have worked with?
That's not a fair question at all. Cate Blanchett is an easy choice, but Seema Biswas (who played the lead in Bandit Queen) would be right up there too. Geoffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham, in both the Elizabeths. There are many more. All I can say is that without my actors, I am lost.

How do you perceive the superstar culture?
Ultimately, no film survives because of a big name. If it has to beat the test of time, the film will survive on its craft and content. I have said it many times before but I will reiterate this: Our stars are killing the film business with the kind of salaries they demand. There is little left to spend on re search and development.

Do you have any regrets in life?
Many. I wish I hadn't troubled my parents as I did. I wish my marriages hadn't broken up. I wish I had made many more films, and sometimes, I wish I wasn't such a thinker. I agree that am a difficult person to live with... but I am not fake.