India, Oct. 15 -- What was your childhood like and at what point did you think of taking writing up as a profession?

My connection to writing developed way before my connection to direction ever did. I think I enjoyed reading a lot as a kid. You know, they make you do these essays in school? 'If I were a one-rupee coin' or 'If I were a plastic bag' and those things. You know, those were the first fiction pieces, so to say, that I ever wrote. I think that kind of set it off for me. I do remember enjoying the process of writing a lot. So, I would keep writing. I started writing a few little stories. Then I would write a few plays that I would enact with siblings and neighbourhood kids. Then there was a magazine called Tinkle when we were g...