Find the sort of person who encourages you to soar, without exception, without conditions. The one who motivates you to follow every single dream no matter how tiny, massive and crazy. The one who doesn't judge you during your worst moments and celebrates your best ones to the fullest. The one who makes it a point to tell you how proud they are of you, not just of what you look like, wear or say, but who you inherently are. The one who doesn't take your achievements as a personal affront or threat. The one who realises that love and relationships aren't fairytales but tangible things that need to be worked upon.

To be with a man who offers support selflessly has been the biggest blessing of my life. He hears out every single vision and adventurous plan I have, helps me organise my thoughts and then encourages me to chase after them with abandon. He makes me step out of my comfort zone and holds my hand when I panic. When I get back to bed late in the night my head buzzing with frenzied ideas, he often does this thing, no matter what the time... where even though he's half asleep, his arms reach out and envelop me. To me, that tiny gesture is the most comforting and calming thing in the world.

I know that feeling so well because you see, the heart is a muscle and it remembers.

Life with Jon has been the most incredible adventure, we've hopped continents, lived in multiple countries, overcome external cultural bias', lived apart, lived together, been there, done that and yet there is so much more to do.

The beginning of our relationship started with two, almost three, years apart, and every time he left, my heart would drop to the pit of my stomach because I didn't know when I'd see him again. I know that feeling so well because you see, the heart is a muscle and it remembers. Even though we're no longer in that situation, every time he leaves, or I leave, my heart still goes through the same old motions, it clenches, twists and then drags itself down to the bottom of my belly. I cry, not just a few tears--I'm talking proper sobs, every single time. It's a real, very physical feeling of heartbreak that refuses to disappear. My brain sends messages of logic to my heart but the heart is a muscle, and it remembers.

Without him, I feel unsettled

As someone who chooses to constantly be on the move my concept of home is only one, him. Without him, I am untethered, floating weightless in an endless ocean of people, places and ideas. But here is where things get interesting: we both have very different ideas about travel and we're both fiercely independent. I love the mountains and him the ocean, I work on projects in India and him in Australia, so we often choose to do things separately and then find our way back to one another. I'm not talking a few days or weeks away; I'm talking months at a time. And despite my dastardly clenched heart, when I'm at the end of a solo hike or when I am exploring a new place that takes my breath away, I have zero regrets. And I know when he's off surfing the best waves of his life he has none either. When we make our way back to each other, we're always the best versions of ourselves. Two individuals who haven't been held back by what society thinks marriage should be and who've followed their passions and their heart 100%. It's no wonder that after six years of being together things still feel brand new.

Yesterday, two weeks after our second wedding anniversary, we said goodbye again, and we're off in different directions. My heart rests in my belly, and as I sit mid-air 30,000 ft above the ground, I'm writing to cope. When I'm on that mountain, I know I will breathe easy a little bit more because while the heart is a muscle and it remembers, I've also taught it to travel, soar and explore.

Disclaimer: If I'm completely honest, this post should probably be titled: "An Ode to my Husband!"

The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of HuffPost India. Any omissions or errors are the author's, and HuffPost India does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.

The Morning Wrap is HuffPost India's selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers. Subscribe here to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning.

Essential HuffPost

Social media was abuzz on Sunday evening with a statement that Hasmukh Adhia, the revenue secretary, had given made in an interview to the Press Trust of India regarding the Goods and Services Tax. What's it all about? Vivek Kaul explains.

Mersal is not a petty political quarrel, but a symbol of Tamil resistance to top-down nationalism that has little relevance to the state. And it has been an unequivocal trend since the anti-Hindi agitations in the 1930s, 40s and the 60s. G Pramod Kumar weighs in on the latest controversy in Tamil Nadu.

In a sharp analysis of the contemporary political tactics in Gujarat, Radhika Ramasehan explains why Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the BJP as a whole, are desperate to revive the Hindu Hriday Samrat strategy ahead of the polls in the state.

Main News

A day after Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the Goods and Services Tax requires a major rejig, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi stepped up attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and dubbed the GST as "BJP's Gabbar Singh Tax", in a rally in Gujarat.

In a shift of gears, the Modi government on Monday announced the restart of a frozen political dialogue in Jammu & Kashmir, with former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma as the interlocutor, which will include separatist the Hurriyat conglomeration if its leaders are ready to engagement with the Centre.

The Supreme Court has indicated that it may replace the word "shall" with "may" in the 2016 order, in which playing of the national anthem was made mandatory at cinema halls before the screening of any movie across India.

Off The Front Page

The Supreme Court expressed surprise over the re-employment of policemen and doctors convicted by the Bombay High Court of suppressing and tampering with evidence in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case, and sought answers from the Gujarat government.

Tens of thousands of would-be schoolteachers have been left in the lurch with the Central Teacher Eligibility Test, usually held twice a year, not being conducted at all this year because of a pending guidelines revision.

Nearly 100 Indian H-1B visa holders and their dependents reached out to US lawmakers on Monday to plead for the clearance of the massive backlog of green card petitions. The US issues a million green cards every year.

Opinion

"Vasundhara Raje Scindia has abridged the fundamental freedoms India boasts off. She's also damaged her party's claim to uphold and honour India's vibrant democracy. And, finally, she's lowered India's standing in the free world." Read Karan Thapar's scathing indictment of the Rajasthan government attempt to give immunity to public servants.

"BJP's misreading of history raises questions on the Indian state's ability to be a custodian for the nation's historical sites, including Mughal monuments," writes historian Audrey Truschke in The Indian Express.

Since the method of GDP calculation treats environmental damage costs as income, L Venkatachalam offers an alternate view to economic growth in India in The Hindu.

Also on HuffPost

The Supreme Court has weighed in on the national anthem. Again.

In 2016 the court had ordered all cinemas to play the national anthem before a film "for the love of the motherland".

Now the esteemed court says "You don't have to stand up at a cinema hall to be patriotic."

But really that misses the larger point.

Why do we insist on playing the national anthem before a film in the first place? Why is a movie theatre suddenly the crucible for instilling patriotism? Not the school, for instance? That's the real issue here.

Some have said it's because in a country as vast as India the movie theatre is the place where people of all classes and communities converge. Everyone goes to the movies whatever their religion, caste or level of education. It's our common glue.

But what that argument misses is that there are movies and there are movies. Is the audience flocking to a theatre to watch Sunny Leone in Mastizaade really in the mood for a booster dose of Vitamin Jana Gana? Can screening Kya Kool Hain Hum 3, a self-professed "porn com", be construed as being in the spirit of Article 51A and fostering respect for the national flag and the national anthem?

The court pointed out that there is no bar to play the national anthem on other occasions too.

There should really be two debates here.

Is it mandatory to stand during the national anthem? (And that's irrespective of whether it's being played in a movie theatre or a cricket stadium.)

Is it mandatory to play the national anthem before a movie?

Thanks to the rulings, we have mixed up the two when, in fact, there are probably many Indians who have no problems standing for the national anthem but do not think a movie theatre, a venue whose purpose is entertainment rather than education, is the best place for it. Their voices get drowned in the shrillness of the debate in an atmosphere where we are quick to label dissent as unpatriotic.

Justice DY Chandrachud smacked the government on performance patriotism. It asked the attorney general why every one of us "should wear our patriotism on our sleeves". And in a statement that seemed to go well beyond the movie theatres, he asked "Tomorrow, if someone says don't wear shorts and T-shirts to cinema halls because national anthem is being played because it will amount to disrespect to the national anthem. Where do we draw a line? Where do we stop this moral policing?"

That's really the larger question that the government has to answer. To be fair, the national anthem in movie theatres was something the court handed it on a platter. The government, always happy to enforce its singular version of patriotism, merely chose to enforce it. The court says the government could change the law if it wanted to force people to stand for the national anthem. It's quite possible the government will propose doing exactly that just because it's a low-hanging deshbhakti fruit.

But the directive, instead of filling everyone with patriotic pride, just opened the door to lumpen vigilantism in the name of desh bhakti.

A wheelchair-bound disability rights activist was heckled and called a Pakistani at a multiplex in Guwahati.

Six people were taken into custody in Kerala for not standing during the national anthem at the International Film Festival in Thiruvanthapuram. Bharatiya Yuve Morcha activists complained to the police.

Seven people were booked in Chennai after a fight broke out over not standing and also taking selfies during the national anthem.

Just as we have gau-vigilantism in the name of gau seva, we got desh-bullying in the name of desh-bhakti. It became yet another opportunity to beat someone up for not following another's version of patriotism.

I personally always stand for the national anthem, no matter which country it belongs to. I believe that shows respect. But I also believe with equal fervour that I have no right to beat up the person who does not stand for the anthem but in no way does it disrupt my standing up. That is the idea of tolerance, of living and letting live, that feels increasingly endangered in India. And this is not limited to the anthem at all.

We have heard over and over again about fights breaking out on railway trains because someone was upset that a passenger was eating non-vegetarian food in the same compartment. They wanted them to move. Once we had mobs break into an art gallery because they found someone's art work objectionable. Then we had mobs drag women out of a pub by their hair because they found women drinking un-sanskari. Now we are now a country where in the name of gau-bhakti a mob can break into someone's home and ransack their refrigerator. This is moral policing run amock and the Jana Gana Mana in a movie theatre provided yet another opportunity to flex that muscle.

One suspects that's what worried the court when it asked about where we stop this moral policing.

As for those who say can't we stand for 52 seconds to show our love for the country, perhaps they could put their patriotism into other, more productive, areas to show love for the country?

What about not littering the streets for instance? Why not make that a litmus test of patriotism?

Also on HuffPost

We're entering the sixth-wave of mass-extinction. We stand to lose up to 75 percent of the world's species, some report as soon as mid-century. This is because of human activity like waste and pollution, climate change, habitat destruction and wildlife poaching.

Extinction naturally occurs, but it usually happens at a rate of one to five species a year. Right now, plants and animals are going extinct between 100 - 1000 times that rate.

But while this destruction carries on, there are people working day in and out determined to ensure we intervene in this seemingly overwhelming problem. People like Mark and Sophie Hutchinson who founded conservation group, Wild Ark. Wild Ark's mission is to secure land all around the world to restore and protect species under threat. They're a small part of a much larger movement in pragmatic conservation taking place across the world with a focus on land acquisition.

Read more: Earth Has Entered Its Sixth Mass Extinction Event, Report Asserts

They've moved their twin daughters to Hoedspruit in South Africa to launch their first conservancy 'Pridelands' with local partners Anton and John Lategan. However, while they try and get their first project off the ground, in the background a war rages on. Referred to as the human-wildlife conflict, the poaching of rhino in particular, is the focus of conservation efforts in South Africa.

This war doesn't rage on, however, without unrelenting positivity and determination from people like Rhian Ahlers, Pierre Wilkinson, Ruben and Marianne de Kock, Clive Poultney and Sean Patrick.

If you would like to find out more about the conservation efforts in South Africa, visit Wild Ark, Southern African Wildlife College, EcoTraining and Friends of African Wildlife.

HuffPost Australia travelled to Hoedspruit in South Africa with Wild Ark.

The internet is making everyone aggro, it's seriously damaging our ability to get along and women and minorities are copping the brunt of it.

And it's not a generational thing either. Older Australians are reporting more online abuse than ever before, a new report shows.

There's been a significant jump in the number of Australians reporting online harassment, with a staggering 70 percent of of respondents reporting some form of harassment or abuse this year.

The study, by internet security company Norton by Symantec, came across our desks at an interesting time. Last week a high school Facebook group became "ground zero" for the harassment and abuse of poet Ellen van Neerven, author of the poem Mango which itself is the focus of an HSC English exam.

The Norton report -- released last week -- shows an increase of people experiencing online harassment across all age groups, with 40+ age group showing the most significant rise in reports from 37 percent in 2016 to 61 percent in 2017.

Norton's second Online Harassment Survey found:

• A general increase of people across all age groups experiencing online harassment;
• Abuse, insults, malicious gossip and being subject to rumours has become commonplace;
• Minority groups are suffering as a result, including LGBTIQ, those with poor mental health and weight issues;
• Men do not share experiences with peers, withdrawing even more from society, and;
• More women receive unwanted graphic / sexual pornographic material

But under 30s continue to be the most targeted age group, with 85 percent reporting online harassment as well as being more likely to be victim of more serious forms of online abuse such as cyberbullying, cyberstalking and sexual harassment.

Women suffer greater negative emotional impacts than men, with 33 percent expressing anger, 32 percent feeling anxious and 29 percent reporting feelings of depression.

More than half of women who suffered from depression as a result of their experiences had to seek medical help, which the report authors said confirmed the detrimental impact of cyber harassment on mental health and the need for education around online security.

What does cyberbullying look like?

• Being sent mean or hurtful text messages from someone you know or even someone you don't know;
• Getting nasty, threatening or hurtful messages through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, or through sites where people can ask / answer questions like Formspring or Internet forums;
• People sending photos and videos of you to others to try and embarrass or hurt you;
• People spreading rumours about you via emails or social networking sites or text messages;
• People trying to stop you from communicating with others;
• People stealing your passwords or getting into your accounts and changing the information there;
• People setting up fake profiles pretending to be you, or posting messages or status updates from your accounts.

Source: AHRC

While the number of incidents in each case may be limited to one or two rare events, it was concerning that the total number of reports had increased, said Melissa Dempsey, Senior Director of Norton's Asia Pacific and Japan arms.

"Online or cyber harassment continues to be a real threat for both young and old," Dempsey said in a statement.

"While the increased number of incidents could be due to people now feeling more confident to speak up, the fact that reports of online bullying and abusive behaviour is on the rise requires immediate action in terms of online users' security and privacy."

Steps You Can Take To Help Combat Online Harassment:

REVIEW your online presence on all devices:

• Check your security and privacy settings;
• Regularly change passwords.

RECOGNISE the problem if it happens and move quickly:

• Do not respond to the perpetrator;
• Keep all records and evidence of the harassment by making a copy of the message, photo or video;
• If you are witness to online harassment, help by supporting the person targeted and, depending on the situation, letting the perpetrators know that their behaviour is not acceptable.

REPORT:

• If someone says or does something that is inappropriate or deemed as harassment, report it to the relevant authorities immediately;
• If inappropriate content is displayed online, contact the website operators by phone or email, requesting the content be removed or blocked.

Younger Minority Groups Under Threat

Being constantly socially connected comes with risks, with the report noting high incidences of abuse could be attributed to young adults' regular use of popular social media profiles such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

Experience of abuse and insults (53 percent) as well as malicious gossip and rumours (43 percent) are now commonplace complaints, the survey of 1,030 adults aged over 18 found.

This kind of "mild harassment" is most commonly experienced amongst younger Australians with 67 percent reporting abuse and insults.

Tech Use Sees Boost In Counselling Services

In April Kids Helpline released a report showing increased use of technology saw a 151 percent increase in WebChat counselling over a five year period, going from 12,643 in 2012 to 31,765 contacts in 2016.

In July last year KHL began gathering data on the prevalence of cyberbullying and other issues in this space.

"From July to December 2016, 1,566 counselling contacts were from children and young people concerned, worried or feeling unsafe as a result of online or texting activity," Ms Adams said in April.

"In addition to bullying, this included participation in sexting, receiving unwanted online contact, suspected grooming and uncontrolled or excessive use of online gaming or social networking."

The 2016 Insights report showed NSW and Victoria as the leading states accessing Kids Helpline services with 35 percent and 25 percent of all contacts coming from these States respectively.

Burrowing down into the Norton findings shows very tough circumstances for certain minority groups

Of those reporting the most common harassment are the physically disabled at (59 percent), the LGBTQ community (66 percent) and those with weight issues (66 percent) or poor mental health (69 percent) more likely to be victims.

Threats Of Violence, Cyberbullying And Cyberstalking Reports On The Rise

Reports of threats of physical violence more than doubled since the last survey up from 16 percent to 35 percent, with younger men and people with minority status being more likely to be targeted.

Cyberbullying and cyberstalking reports also increased significantly from 20 percent to 33 percent and 15 per cent to 29 percent respectively.

Cyberbullying is especially a concern for younger Australians (57 percent), those in the LGBTIQ community (55 percent) and people suffering from poor mental health (48 percent).

When it came to identifying perpetrators of cyberbullying, men were more likely to say their bullies' identities were unknown (39 percent) or total strangers (30 percent). 28 percent of women who had experienced bullying said that they had been bullied by a former friend or an acquaintance.

While young women were only a little more likely to be targeted by sexual harassment than men, the range and variety of sexual abuse they receive is greater.

The Gender Imbalance in Abuse:

• 48 percent of women compared to 31 percent of men reported said they had people send sexual comments and messages on social media accounts;
• Requests for sexually explicit photographs/images was significantly higher for women with 44 percent reporting this complaint than men (25 percent);
• Women also reported more instances of receiving unwanted graphic/sexual pornographic material as well as being pestered for dates by someone who would not take no for an answer.

Alarmingly, 77 percent of men surveyed said that they do not know anyone who has suffered from online harassment, however 70 per cent have experienced it themselves.

This indicates that most men do not share these experiences with their peers, Norton said.

Are you experiencing cyberbullying? Get in touch with the eSafety Commissioner for advice on how to make a complaint, find someone to talk to as well as advice and strategies for dealing with cyberbullying.

If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondBlue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.

NEW DELHI -- In a stimulus package to boost the flagging economic growth, create jobs and increase credit flow, the cabinet on Tuesday approved a recapitalisation plan for state-run banks to the tune of Rs 2.11 lakh crore and a massive road infrastructure investment costing nearly Rs 7 lakh crore over the next five years.

Of the support to banks, a sum of Rs 1.35 lakh crore will be raised through recapitalisation bonds and the rest through budgetary support as well as market borrowings, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar disclosed at a media conference in the presence of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and a battery of secretaries from the ministry.

Under the road connectivity programme at a cost of nearly Rs 7 lakh crore, the government will construct 84,000 km highways in the next 5 years. Of this, the Bharatmala project component will involve an outlay Rs 5.35 lakh crore that will generate 14.2 crore man-days of work.

Funding for the programme will be raised as debt from the market (Rs 2.09 lakh crore), private investments through PPP (Rs 1.06 lakh crore) and from accruals to the central road fund and toll collections (Rs 2.19 lakh crore).

Jaitley said that the economic blueprint to revive growth being presented follows extensive recent discussions on the state of the economy.

"You will recall the press conference last time, where I had mentioned that we will respond appropriately to the situation as it develops," he said.

"We have conducted analysis within the ministry and held detailed consultation with Prime Minister on the state of the economy. We have decided on the steps needed to sustain the growth momentum," he said.

"The unprecedented recapitalisation and the initiatives announced today (Tuesday) are expected to have a noticeable impact in the near term, contributing to accelerated economic activity, employment and growth of the economy," he added.

The public sector banks' recapitalisation comes in a context where their non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, have reached the level of 82 per cent of their stressed assets, Kumar said.

"The NPAs of government owned banks have increased to the level of Rs 4.55 lakh crore between 2015 and 2017," he said.

"Of this, 12 cases, which have been referred to the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) account for Rs 1.75 lakh crore, or 25 per cent of all NPAs," he added.

Pointing out that the accumulated NPA figures reflect the result of "aggressive lending" in the past, Jaitley said the government's move to fund banks comes at a time when private sector investment has dwindled.

Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subranmanian, who was also present at the briefing, clarified that the recapitalisation bonds would count as debt, while their exact nature would be made available in due course.

The government, however, denied that this support to banks would affect fiscal consolidation.

The Finance Minister said the banks would get Rs 18,000 crore under the Indradhanush plan.

Under the Indradhanush roadmap introduced in 2015, the government had announced infusion of Rs 70,000 crore in state-run banks over four years to meet their capital requirement in line with global banking risk norms, known as Basel-III.

In line with the plan, public sector banks were given Rs 25,000 crore in 2015-16, and a similar amount has been earmarked for the following years. Besides, Rs 10,000 crore each would be infused in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

This stimulus package comes after data from various sources showed India's GDP growth flagging under the twin impact of demonetisation and GST.

The IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook that India's economic growth for 2017 and 2018 will be slower than earlier projections. The report cited the "lingering impact" of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for the expected slowdown during the current and the next year.

While filmmakers often meet journalists in their office or their home (a space where they're most comfortable), Imtiaz Ali, in what is befitting, is hanging around a cozy, dimly-lit, obscure cafe in Andheri, a suburb in Western Mumbai.

It's a cafe you'd miss easily, one that you need to find. That's Imtiaz -- he, who famously made the quietly forgotten town of Ratlam famous all over the country. He, of train romances and bike rides that culminate in green fields with figurative boundaries.

Few filmmakers carry a signature style that separates their work from others and Imtiaz is one of them. There is an effortless realism in his films, a sense of ease in which his characters converse -- they often tend to verbalise their emotions. If you notice, his characters not only feel emotions, they talk about that feeling, as if the emotions won't be real if left unsaid.

While there is a sense of deep melancholy in his movies, there's also something very life-affirming. Whether it's the cathartic climax of Tamasha and Highway or the disruptively intense romance and non-conformism of Rockstar, ​​Imtiaz's influence as a filmmaker -- and his sway on pop-culture -- cannot be underestimated. At the same time, we must also address some of his shortcomings.

"If a female character is rescuing the male character in a film, then, in a way, I am just imitating life. Personally, I have seen that happen a lot of times. "

In this interview, the director talks about his cinema, his motivations and what love has come to mean to him.

The success of Jab We Met propelled you to a space where you became a unique voice of contemporary romance. There was almost an aspirational quality to the romance of Geet and Aditya. As a young man coming of age, I remember wanting to meet a Geet. Do you remember how the character was conceived? Was it modelled on someone?

Geet was not modelled on anyone, although I know of some girls, who actually behave and talk like that. After the film released, in all these 10 years, a lot of girls have come up to me and said that they are called 'Geet' in their circles. There are a lot of girls, who love to talk, and who feel they are their own favourites. But I hadn't particularly modelled her on anyone .

A self-loving girl who sees the best in everyone is a rare protagonist.

Yes, and more than just being a self-loving girl, Geet is a girl who instantly trusts everyone and says everything that comes to her mind, without any kind of a filter. She has a basic innocence and inherent positivity...

Yeah, an innocence that isn't corrupted by the ways of the world ...

Yeah, she is not corrupt, and also, even if she has bad experiences, what she takes away from them is not angst. Like, she had a bad experience with the guy selling water at that railway station. Her takeaway from that experience isn't negative. So I think, there is a certain positivity and bumbling naivety that characterises her. And yes, I have seen a lot of girls like that.

Post Jab We Met, your movies have largely opened to polarising responses, Rockstar and Tamasha being two of the most prime examples of that. I feel Tamasha is your most complex film so far and Ranbir's finest performance. For me, the film is almost like a meditative, religious experience. However, what I do feel is that the film's female character, like in many of your films, functions solely to rescue the troubled male protagonist.

(Laughs) I don't know whether that's an allegation or a compliment. If a female character is rescuing the male character in a film, then, in a way, I am just imitating life. Personally, I have seen that happen a lot of times. I don't take it as a negative comment at all and that's really what I have to say about that 'allegation'.

"Women are more intelligent, aware and practical. They come up with solutions that men don't even imagine."

You are saying it comes from your own lived experiences or perhaps experiences of others who you happen to know of?

It is a lived experience. Of course, I have seen a lot of times when that has happened. Of course, guys have also gotten into trouble with girls but to me, that is mundane. I see a lot of women contributing positively to the lives of men and I have also seen and I have no shame in admitting this -- that I genuinely find women to be smarter than men. Women are more intelligent, aware and practical. They come up with solutions that men don't even imagine.

Well, that's great but this approach becomes problematic because you are looking at women in the context of men and from a male gaze.Are you are okay with that? You wouldn't want to do it differently?

No.

See, when I am making a story, believe it or not, I am not making a statement. There are 500 things that the characters of my films have said that I don't personally believe in. Why should every character endorse the view of one person? That would be so unfortunate. That would also be very limiting. I don't want that. I think there are things that Aditya (from Jab We Met) says, or Jordan (Rockstar) says, or Heer (Rockstar) says that I don't believe in. But they are not me. I am just the writer.

But they are an extension of your imagination and represent your worldview.

Well, not 100 per cent.

Of course they are an extension of my imagination. I, like every human being, when I take a decision, I am aware of the logic on both the sides -- whether I should go left or right. Whichever side I go, I know positives and negatives of both left and right. And my characters can represent left and right. They don't need to go into a direction that I, personally, in my life, would have gone. I, sometimes, don't even bother to think what I would have done in my life in that situation. I just feel that Geet could have done this, so, she is doing this. I am not her moral compass at all.

There is a cyclic process in your films where the characters realise they are in love with someone else, when they get or are about to get married. There is this awakening where another character makes them realise that the person they are in love with isn't the one for them. Where does that come from? What is so interesting about that conflict that you keep going back to it whether it's Socha Na Tha, Love Aaj Kal, Jab Harry Met Sejal, Rockstar and to an extent, Jab We Met?

Ummm. I don't think I have a good enough answer to this question really.

But it is a pattern, right?

Yes, of course, it is a pattern. I totally recognise the fact that they (characters) seem to change their minds. But it's not as if though... actually, I don't know where it is coming from. There are other patterns in my films too. Like there is a pattern of anti-establishment. Whether it is Geet running away from her house, or in Rockstar, him (Ranbir Kapoor's character, Jordan) saying 'Sadda Haq', sort of breaking out, there is this reluctance to conform to established norms. Even that doesn't directly come from my life. In the same vein, people changing their romantic muses, is also not influenced from my personal life. One lives and learns... One thing I would say -- what I thought love was, has changed completely. And it has been changing for a while. It's changed to an extent that I don't really use this word anymore. Is that a good enough answer? Because that's the only answer I have.

"If you ask me about my feelings of love, what I have understood is that love is just a direction, not the destination."

Let's talk about evolution of love. (There was) a point when commitment mattered a lot. That was also a time when choices were limited. Then there was a time when we became romantically democratic but commitment was still sacrosanct. But now, when romantic options are just a swipe away, people don't commit easily because everyone thinks there's something better out there. Because of the safety net of an easy alternative, which is so accessible, you don't value the current. At least that's what I feel. Thoughts?

You're right.

But here's what I feel. When you are talking about love, you perhaps think so, but you aren't really talking about someone else, say your lover. You are, in a way, just talking about your own self, about what you love or what you are looking for. And that is what needs definition. The other person, in my opinion, is just an object for you, just a vehicle to realise your own feelings. You know these are things, which I am telling you, because you are asking. I don't have answers for them. But if you ask me about my feelings of love, what I have understood is that love is just a direction, not the destination.

Interesting. I feel nobody can define love. But what we can do is look for its interpretation through art, literature, and cinema.

Yes, yes, yes absolutely. As a filmmaker, I look for life and I look for the meaning of love through the making of my own cinema. That's where my learning happens.

You know what I now find interesting is what you said before about your characters being non-conformists. Examine it closely and you see a template coming out of that non-conformism. What I am trying to see is, as a whole, you have started to conform to a template that you, yourself, have created. Do you question that sometimes?

Hmm, perhaps. I do question that and although I am unwilling to make a movie that does not naturally come to me or is organically interests me, I am looking to make different kinds of films. By this, I don't mean different genres. I just mean different in nature.

As you mentioned before, your lived experiences find a way into your films so do you feel as you grow older, your lived experiences get fewer? As a filmmaker do you find the very nature of that concept limiting?

No, I don't think that's limiting. When you grow old, different kinds of experiences happen. At every age, there are different kinds of intense experiences that happen. To be involved with life is, for sure, very important, to be involved with cinema, and to know what you have to say before you say it also very important. Lived experiences seep into your film, yes. But not in the obvious manner. Very subtly.

"My personal experiences in marriage has not made me cynical at all. I have always been misquoted about marriage."

About people leaving their partner for a different pursuit, if I may, does that come from your personal experience of marriage? Has that made you cynical about the very institution?

No. My personal experiences in marriage has not made me cynical at all. I have always been misquoted about marriage. So, sometimes I don't feel like talking about it because I know exactly where it will land up. Let me not say anything on this. I actually want to say something else...

It doesn't go with the narrative that the media wants to follow? Does that make you uncomfortable?

Yeah, because maybe I am trying to discover much about life in an interview and there are people who are often looking at (getting) the quotes.

So you are cynical about the media, not marriage.

(Laughs) Let's put it like that. I am just a little careful because I don't want to make the same mistake again and again. But often what is obvious is not what I have to say.

In 2012, you wrote a film called, Cocktail, which Homi Adajania directed. Despite being a hit, the film still remains contentious because of the way it depicted its women characters.

(Interrupts) See, the point is that if I don't direct the movie then I don't own the authorship of it.

But it's still yours, it's your writing.

Writing is interpreted in 500 different ways. You give me Mughal-e-Azam and I will make it something else if I am directing it.

In hindsight, how do you look at it (Cocktail)?

I don't think there was anything wrong in the way it was. In fact, how it was supposed to be was Veronica (Deepika Padukone's character in Cocktail) is the type that this guy (played by Saif Ali Khan) likes. The whole point was that he goes against his type because that particular person (Diana Penty's character) he likes a lot. It had nothing to do with somebody being Indian, or somebody being more acceptable to his family.

"I have never had a male or a female writer. As much as you feel there is gender-inequality in my films, I get a lot of female adulation because they feel women in my films are strong vis-a-vis some of the other movies. "

Do you then think the issue was in the storytelling there because the film is widely perceived as that (problematic)? There's also a slut-shaming angle to it as you see Veronica, who smokes and is more 'free' not getting the guy. The film sends the message that you can have 'fun' with her but wouldn't want to settle down with her. I am fairly certain you must have heard this many times before.

Yes, 100 times. And every time I say the same thing -- if I haven't directed it, I can't claim it. Nobody reads the script. The script that I wrote, people should actually read it. Not that I am saying that the director (Homi Adjania) messed it up but it just came through differently than the way it was intended to.

Have you processed the response towards Jab Harry Met Sejal?

Yes. The film is nice. I like the film and I will have my own opinion. I don't read what the critics say, anyway. I am not here to control public opinion or condemn or approve it. But I will have my own opinion and the good thing is that cinema is everlasting.

So, you stand by everything in the film? (the film was criticised in the way Sejal, the film's female lead was depicted. Imtiaz has previously defended his decision here)

100 per cent. Of course, I have made mistakes in every movie and I am sure I must have made some mistakes in Jab Harry Met Sejal as well. But I am not less proud of it than any other film of mine, for sure.

A lot of people believe that if you collaborate with a female writer, the gender-imbalance in your films will correct itself.

Maybe. But I cannot take each suggestion from everybody, then do it and see how it goes. I still have to do with my own mind. I will have to go by own instinct. People do have opinions, and I respect them. I am not bothered about that (negative response). I have never had a male or a female writer. As much as you feel there is gender-inequality in my films, I get a lot of female adulation because they feel women in my films are strong vis-a-vis some of the other movies. So, somebody's opinion is not the gospel truth.

Also see on HuffPost:

Think of Humpty Dumpty and you no doubt picture an egg on a wall -- or, if you're the morbid type, an egg smashed to pieces at the bottom of one.

That's because Humpty has been depicted as an egg for hundreds of years, despite the fact the actual rhyme never refers to him as one.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall (a refresher)

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Source: The Dorling Kindersley Book of Nursery Rhymes

See? It's no eggsageration. It's no yolk. It's enough to make you go into shell shock. (OK we'll stop.)

But seriously. How the flip (sorry) did Humpty end up as an egg?

Well, apparently it's all thanks to Lewis Carroll (yes, he of 'Alice in Wonderland' fame) and his 1872 novel 'Through the Looking-Glass'.

Chapter six of the book is entitled 'Humpty Dumpty' and apparently, it's here that Humpty first appeared as an egg.

"However, the egg only got larger and larger, and more and more human: when she had come within a few yards of it, she saw that it had eyes and a nose and mouth; and when she had come close to it, she saw clearly that it was Humpty Dumpty himself. 'It can't be anybody else!' she said to herself. 'I'm as certain of it, as if his name were written all over his face.'"

- Extract from 'Through the Looking Glass', Lewis Carroll.

Much like an omelette in a stainless steel pan, this portrayal of Humpty apparently stuck (sorry again) and he's been an egg ever since.

But while Carroll may have introduced Humpty as an egg, he can't be credited with the original nursery rhyme. So what was Humpty before he was an egg? (Hopefully a chicken, because that would settle a really long debate.)

Pinterest

The original depiction of Humpty as an egg, illustrated by John Tenniel.

Nope. According to several war historians, the original Humpty Dumpty was not an egg, not a chicken, not a man but a CANNON.

Yep. A large cannon which is believed to have been used in English Civil War (1642-1649), specifically, in the 1648 Siege of Colchester.

The rhyme came about because as Colchester was under siege, one of the cannons from the attacking side managed to destroy the wall 'Humpty Dumpty' was positioned on. Hence, Humpty Dumpty came tumbling down.

Due to its massive size, none of the king's horses and none of the king's men were able to put it back together again... and so Humpty's legacy was born.

So there you have it. Once a cannon, now an egg, forever a popular nursery rhyme.

You're welcome.