Imtiaz Ali: On the Highway to Punjab

Mona

Writer-director Imtiaz Ali feels a special connect with Punjab. His work brings him to the state again and again, and each time he discovers new things that inspire him to make more films. “I don’t know why I feel so much at home in Punjab. Not everything can be understood through mind and intellect,” says the director, who is much in love with Punjab’s churi, gur, mitti, khet, music, logon ka jazba and Guru ki bani!

When you go to a film school, the very environment and sharing of ideas become the elementary process of filmmaking. But, yes, that spark has to exist within you!. — Imtiaz Ali

With films like Jab We Met, Highway, Rockstar and Tamasha to his credit, Imtiaz is a success story but he doesn’t take himself too seriously. “I am just a medium that these stories, films flow through.”

His next film too has a deep connect with the state. “I am not at liberty to divulge much, but it’s about something unique from Punjab, and hope you will like it,” he says.

In city to be a part of the 2nd Chandigarh Music and Film Festival 2022, Imtiaz interacted with the students of University Institute of Film and Media Studies, Chandigarh University, sharing his journey, he says, “In the process of writing and filmmaking, at times even the subconscious becomes a part of the process.”

About Tamasha, which was screened at the event, Imtiaz insists that the film is not autobiographical, but it does pick up some elements from his life. Can acting, filmmaking be taught? To some extent, believes Imtiaz. “When you go to a film school, the very environment and sharing of ideas become the elementary process of filmmaking. But, yes, that spark has to exist within you!”

His theatre days at Hindu College, Delhi, is what Jab Harry Met Sejal’s director recounts as his happiest and saddest time. “Bhaut hooting hoti thi mere plays ki!”

With a penchant for storytelling, Imtiaz measures the success of his film not on the basis of box office numbers, but how much could he convey through his work. His viewers matter the most to him. Here’s an incident which shows how much he cares. Once after a show of Tamasha, he stayed back in a single screen theatre in Mumbai, gathering feedback. “There was a woman in her 30s who kept looking at me intently. I asked her how did she like the film, and she said, “You should a have made this film earlier, ab to bahut late ho gaya’ and left. I couldn’t find her later, but I do want to tell her ‘it’s never too late’, maybe I will do that through another film!”

If his films are about self-introspection and exploring bonds, his web debut She was a crime drama, very different from any of his previous works. “I had this story with me for a while, but I couldn’t make it for I thought it won’t fit into the time slot of a film. I am glad I could make it finally, courtesy OTT.” The rise of the digital medium is heartening, says Imtiaz. “Now the audience is aware. These are innovative times. I feel more and more progressive films will be made.” Cinema from South India is winning the audience all over the country. “It always has. These days we see lots of good work from the Malayalam film industry. This is good. All cinema is one, India is one; in fact, the world is one. We should see and emulate the best irrespective of the fact wherever it comes from.”

Through cinema, Imtiaz wishes to explore things which he hasn’t so far, “I like to discover the exotic through cinema – visit places that I haven’t, meet people I couldn’t meet earlier!” Imtiaz’s advice to aspiring filmmakers, “Follow your heart, and the journey. Leave logic in art, then it becomes art,” he signs off.

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