“Even though I've acted in many films, I have directed for the first ti...” — Rajpal Yadav Quote

Even though I've acted in many films, I have directed for the first time, and I will always consider myself a student.

In India, big stars like Akshay Kumar or Salman Khan do comedy and serious films and we call them great actors. But when it comes to actors of my stature, people rush to typecast me as a comedian without giving a look to all my work.

I always want to represent the common man.

In Uttar Pradesh there is a district called Shahjahanpur. Fifty kilometers from Shahjahanpur, there is a small, cosy village called Kulra, where my entire family lives.

I can't be typecast as a comedian. Only an actor capable of doing three-dimensional roles can do comedy.

I acted for so many years and sat on a million sets and worked with a million different directors so that is to me some of the best training you can get.

I wanted to play professional hockey, man. But when I acted, I thought, 'Well, okay, maybe I do have something here.'

I had ADD as a kid and often acted as the class clown. My teachers used to tell my mom, 'Raphael thinks he's a real comedian.'

We were expected to smile and be flirty to everyone. But we acted more like a male rock band. We never mastered the niceties. We were more interested in having a good time.

The thing is, I think all my experiences, good and bad on the football field, helped me in my punditry because Ive been in situations where Ive gone to ground too easily, Ive made a mountain out of a molehill, Ive tried to get players sent off for the good of my team, wrongly. Ive acted stupidly, celebrated.