Director Imtiaz Ali will collaborate with actor Shahid Kapoor for his next film. The last time they got together, ten years back, they created Jab We Met, which attained an almost cult status.
13 years since his directorial debut, we attempt to trace the highs and lows of his career.
Socha Na tha
The debut film of the director was a simple romance laced up with multiple plot twists. The male lead, Viren, already has a girlfriend, but is attracted to the bubbly Aditi. The film only grew in popularity with time. The USP of this debut director was his ability to develop young characters in significant forms—like Viren (an effortlessly untroubled dude living an adorable bratty life) and Aditi (fun, yet sensible, with no melodrama) on screen.
Jab We Met
Jab We Met was an important story that he told in his career. It bequeathed him his own place in the commercial film industry. Apart from the success it received on the box office, it literally became a turning point for almost every cast member. The way the story permeated through audiences across the country, in terms of characters, dialogues, locations and music, set Ali apart from all others.
Love Aaj Kal
With this movie, the director dissects the fallacies of modern day dating in an interesting manner. It begins with a breakup and leads into a relationship. It avoided clichés just enough to make it realistic and relatable. Again, the characters deviated from the corny roles or typical dreams. The story was so well executed that it became one of his highest grossing films till date.
Rockstar
Before anything else, Rockstar was one of the best music albums by any movie Bollywood has so far produced. The lyrics and Mohit Chauhan’s voice capture the protagonist’s struggle accurately. Ranbir and his widely acclaimed performance contrasted with the not-the-most-expressive Nargis. The movie, which unfolds as a story filling its own gaps in time, trying to narrate a man’s story through interviews and a lot of flashbacks cutting to his present, was experimental. One can say he was exploring and growing as a director.
Cocktail
Even though the movie is considered a milestone in Deepika’s career, given it revealed her potential in its full form, we are left with the question: Why did Imtiaz make the film? The movie reeked of sexism. The treatment needed some balancing to dodge the many clichés.
Highway
Coming back with Highway was a great choice because he knew what he was doing at this point. The story was webbed around oppressor and the oppressed. Their journey on the roads with music composed by AR Rahman worked very well. The movie did not perform well at the box office, but it seemed like the director was still making stories for himself which truly inspired him.
Tamasha
Pretentiousness came sweeping in, from every door. The art-cum-commercial movie needed a director who gave real direction. The story was chaotic. The old narrative of liberation from corporate world was again questionable to the romanticised version in the end. The perspective was an almost optical illusion, where it looked deep than it actually was.
Jab Harry met Sejal
As the name suggests, all the unnecessary ideas of his previous movies made love to each other and gave birth to such a disappointment. Yes, Imtiaz has made his name; he signed SRK for the movie. But, is that enough to get an audience, especially when you’re known for your quality of work. His last movie was literally his worst phase as far as popularity is concerned.