Now, where does this upper city and lower city come? There's a mythology in India ... It says that the rich are always sitting on the shoulders and survive on the shoulders of the poor. So, from that mythology, the upper city and lower city come. .....  And what happens is that the people of the upper city, they suck up all the water. Remember the word I said, suck up. They suck up all the water, keep it to themselves, and they drip feed the lower city. And if there's any revolution, they cut off the water. And, because democracy still exists, there's a democratic way in which you say "Well, if you give us what [we want], we'll give you water."

Interview at Cannes film festival
Question:  You have committed yourself to the ‘Paani’ (Water) project. Why have you chosen this particular commitment?
Shekhar - I work a lot and have been working on water issues for a long time. I’m a member of the Global Water Challenge worldwide. I’m the face of water in India. And the reason for doing it is because I grew up in a water-stressed area, and for 10 years I have been banging on to those people to say that this problem is coming. And it is not something in the future; we are in an explosive situation right now. There are people dying in India because there is no water; there are people in Africa killing each other for water... It cannot continue like that, we cannot live in a way where people can have showers for 2 hours... Do you know that one minute of showering in America is enough water to provide for a whole family of five in India?

Interview at Cannes film festival

Question - “He who looks too much at his dreams becomes like a shadow.” As a filmmaker on the one hand, and a Jury Member on the other, what do you think of this Indian proverb?
Shekhar - I think just completely the other way. I think that when you have a dream, you make it a fantasy, and when you make it a fantasy, you make it an obsession. And once you have made it an obsession, you’re creating. A dream is not tangible but a dream followed to its end is an obsession that drives you to create something external to yourself. A filmmaker, in order to go through the idea of creating a film from nothing, especially independent films, needs a dream.

The Times of India - Interview March 16th 2003

I was a pampered child: My earliest memories are of my parents pulling my cheeks at our house in Lahore, where I was born on December 6, 1945.
My father, Kulbhushan Kapur, was a doctor and had a flourishing practice. My mother, Sheel Kanta, was a journalist and a keen actress who performed on stage. Partition saw my family, including my sister Neelu, moving to Shimla.
My imagination ran wild: From Shimla, we moved to Nizamuddin in Delhi and I attended Modern School (Barakhamba Road), where my father's brother was the principal. Those were carefree days — I was a good student, interested in swimming. I was teased for being Dev Anand's nephew and was often isolated. I made up for this by creating my own world. I loved weaving stories.
My first crush was crushed: I was 15 when I fell in love with Sheela, who studied at CJM. She commuted by bus and I rode my bicycle alongside till she entered the school gate. This went on for months before I gathered courage and went over to her place. Her mother opened the door and, when I asked for Sheela, she came out sleepy-eyed. I told her I loved her, but she said she was in love with Elvis Presley! I was totally heart-broken for days and went into a shell.

 

I loved being reckless: After school, my swimming credentials got me admission to the economics course at St Stephen's college. Surprisingly, I never swam after that. My parents bought me a Lambretta scooter — I used it to attract girlfriends and do crazy things like driving at full throttle on the wrong side of the Ring Road!
I discovered my sexuality: Those were the days of flower power. I grew my hair long and tried to look like a Beatle. I doped and danced but was never part of a core group. After college, I went to England to be a chartered accountant. There, I wooed women while claiming that I knew a lot about the Kama Sutra. Anything Indian was considered hot and I used this to full advantage!
I wasn't cut out for a 9-5 job: As a CA, I got a fairly good job, but felt bored. I returned to India, dabbled with photography and the arts and even reached Bombay wanting to be a director. But nobody took me seriously and I became an actor under my uncle's (Dev Anand) Nav Ketan banner. I featured in Ishq, Ishq, Ishq and Toote Khilone , but realised I was a bad actor. I took to modelling to earn my bread and butter. All in all, this wasn't a great phase.

The Times of India - Interview March 16th 2003

With second wife Suchitra and daughter Kaveri

His first wife: During the making of the movie Masoom, I met Medha. We fell in love and got married.  But Medha and I drifted apart: Masoom was a hit, but my next film Joshilay didn't work.
Mr India, on the other hand, was phenomenally successful. I was on a high but, feeling incomplete, I stopped making movies! I went to the Philippines and became a scuba-diving instructor. Still not sure of myself, I returned to England and became the host of On The Other Hand. In the meanwhile, my marriage with Medha was on the rocks and we separated.

His second wife:  I was drawn to Suchitra's earthiness: I met Suchitra while she was working for Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. In a way, I have always been attracted to earthy women — be it Medha, Shabana or Suchitra. I am like a kite which wants to fly higher and higher — I need a woman who can hold me back. My marriage with Suchitra has worked despite the physical distance. Kaveri [his daughter] is my anchor: I cherish the relationship I share with my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Kaveri. While in London, I take her for a walk in the park each Sunday and narrate stories to her. Sometimes, she falls asleep, but I keep on talking. Her company is comforting — it takes me away from everything else.

TED talk transcript
I'm thinking of making a film of the Buddha -- and I often wonder: If Buddha had had all the elements that are given to a director -- if he had had music, if he had had visuals, if he had had a video camera -- would we understand Buddhism better? But that puts some kind of burden on me.

TED talk transcript
Here's the story I was telling: The gods [were] up there, [and] there were two people. There was Philip II, who was 'divine' because he was always praying, and there was Elizabeth, who was divine, but not quite divine because she thought she was divine, but the blood of being mortal flowed in her.
But the divine one was unjust, so the gods said, "OK, what we need to do is help the just one." And so they helped the just one. And what they did was, they sent Walter Raleigh down to physically separate her mortal self from her spirit self. And ... gradually he separated her so she was free to be divine. And the two divine people fought, and the gods were on the side of divinity.

11:48 Of course, all the British press got really upset. They said, "We won the Armada."

11:55 But I said, "But the storm won the Armada. The gods sent the storm."

The Times of India - Interview March 16th 2003
I have put in my share of struggle: Most people feel that I am this happy-go-lucky kind of guy. Few know of the rejection I have faced, the hard work I have put in. I left the Hindi film industry because too many people were telling me what to do. I missed the loneliness of making my own decisions. Creativity needs solitude. Yet, when solitude turns into loneliness, it can be devastating.

Death defines everything we do: Even my sexuality and eagerness for work is defined by death. In fact, when I really need to feel creative, feel really alive, I allow the fantasy of death to loom large in front of me. In a fantasy, death becomes something one is not scared of and the source of creativity in its purest form.

My life is full of regrets: I don't believe people who claim they have no regrets in life. I wish I hadn't troubled my parents as much as I did. I wish my first marriage hadn't broken up. I wish I had made 12, and not six, films. I wish I wasn't such a thinker. Still, I am a fighter driven by challenges. Yes, I am a very difficult person to live with, but I will always be the way I am.