Seeing the Indian middle-class rise despite all the economic and democratic battles was one uplifting point of 2012. I see the Indian middle-class as a strange anomaly. They want democracy without practising their democratic right; most of them are not that eager to exercise their universal franchise. Despite all the naysayers, a lot of young politicians have their hearts in the right place. What they choose to do depends on opportunities that they receive. Akhilesh Yadav seems to be going great—he would be an interesting politician to watch out for in 2013. With the government and civil organizations, India has done better and better as far as the literacy rate is concerned. If you put it under a scanner, no particular sector has done really “well”, but then IT and education has shown promise. When I think about the future, and in my own areas of interest, I can barely think of anyone exciting to collaborate with. As a filmmaker, I am always looking for interesting people to work with. But they do not make people like Satyajit Ray anymore. My association with the stalwarts such as him has spoilt me. But the rise of vernacular is uplifting, and the regions of India have produced quite a few interesting writers. With the year coming to an end, I find myself looking back upon it with mixed emotions. In 2012, though India bypassed calamities, I was deeply disturbed by Sandy, the storm which struck America. In this flat world of ours, we have friends and family scattered all over. A tragedy that strikes anywhere impacts people everywhere. On a personal level, I would say that I am eagerly awaiting a retrospective of my work which would be shown in an international film festival. That would be the high point of the year for me. Revisiting my older film projects would be nostalgic.