“By the time I was 14, I had seen only three Tamil films - 'Anjali,' 'B...” — Chinmayi Quote

“By the time I was 14, I had seen only three Tamil films - 'Anjali,' 'Bombay,' and 'Puthiya Mugam.' And I loved the music in the films. When I found out Rahman sir was the man behind the music, I made up my mind that I wanted to sing for him.”

“I've been passionate about singing for as long as I can recall.”

“I got recognised for my work in 'Guru' as 'Tere Bina' became extremely popular, but very few people know that I have sung major lyrical portions of the song 'Maiyya' as well.”

“The first film that I signed when I came to Bombay was Bimalda's 'Bandini.' Imagine what it meant for a boy from Punjab with no connection in the film industry, to be signed by Bimal Roy!”

“The writer, Ruth Jhabvala, livedin India but was German. My partner Ismail Merchant was from Bombay but was educated in England and he had a different view on the world. Probably they had to contend with some sort of Oregonian-ness in me that they didn't understand and didn't know where it was coming from.”

“I saw Mani sir's 'Bombay,' and I wanted to be a Mani sir heroine.”