DAY 104

My mother says I am a bad judge of character.

Earlier I used to defend myself saying, `Mom, I like to give people the benefit of doubt."

But these days I just say, "If you think good of someone or expect good of someone, chances are they will turn out good." And also it spares you the trouble of trying to analyze people and respond to them accordingly. Basically, I am a lazy human being and all the aforementioned is too much work for me.

I adopted the think-good-of-someone-and-they-will-turn-out-to-be-good approach to human relationships when I began working with professional actors. The trouble with these guys is that you never know when they are acting and when they are not. In all probability they are still acting even after you called `Cut'. Most of the time you are left wondering about their compliments, their good words, their friendly nature and attitude towards you when the camera is switched off. You are left wondering, is this guy genuinely nice to me or does he have an ulterior motive.

I know it is not fair to them. They are human beings who just happened to be actors. But some of them are so good, that you are left wondering -is he acting now or is he being real? (This image is that of one of the actors in one of my films and it was taken during his coffee-break. But when I look at this pic I am wondering -is he still in his actor's garb? Is this the real him or is it the actor?)

I decided, the best thing would be to expect the best of them, good of them and 9 out of 10 times that's what you will get. That way you don't have to break your head trying to double guess a person and your response to him/her.

My mother still maintains that I am a bad judge of character. "You still get hurt sometimes," she says.

That's the spice mom, I say. Otherwise my life will be good, but bland. This way life can be good and spicy.