'If I get posted to a place, if people engage with me just as an Indian diplomat, I have X amount of leverage.' 'But when they look at me as the high commissioner of India and the author of Slumdog Millionaire, many more people are willing to meet me, more quickly than they would as a pure diplomat.'
'Soft power is the power really to win friends and influence people with the strength of your ideas.' 'India's greatest soft power is being India itself. A nation of varied beliefs, states, creeds, castes, languages and yet embodying that spirit of unity in diversity.'
'Mumbai is very different from the rest of India. It can be ruthless if you don't have work or friends. The struggle time and times of disappointment are horrific and can break you.'
Aseem Chhabra's take on the highlights of Indian cinema this year.
Here are Aseem Chhabra's picks -- 'films that mattered to me, entertained me and will stay with me through the year.'
