Ranbir and I are infected with the same disease: Imtiaz Ali

Director talks about his upcoming film and what inspires him to make movies.

Director Imtiaz Ali is most famous for films such as Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal and Rockstar. He recently wrapped up the shooting of his latest film Highway, and travelled through six states for it. Despite all the work, Ali shows no signs of  fatigue.

Highway was the film that Ali wanted to make his directorial debut with, but that did not work out due to complications with the story.

“The fact that Highway stayed with me for over 15 years, despite the fact that I made several attempts to make the film but couldn't, means a lot. Having said that, Highway, as I have made it now, is completely different from what I wanted to make back then,” said the 41-year-old director. The film now is more simple, uncluttered and has none of the false drama that I had thought of creating back then.”

Most of Ali’s films showcase a physical journey of the protagonist, which may seem like a conscious effort on his part, reports the Hindustan Times.

“A journey, and here I mean a physical journey, is interesting because it is only when you are out of your known periphery that you are actually able to do the things that are there within you but things that you would never express otherwise. I urge people to break rules,” he said.

According to Ali, him and actor Ranbir Kapoor’s friendship also helps him come up with ideas for films. “Ranbir and I are infected by the same disease — films! We can spend four to five hours at a stretch just drinking tea and discussing all kinds of stuff from films to girls,” he said. “But most of all, we discuss incidents that could be turned into good films. Ranbir will go, 'Sir issey acchhi film ban sakti hai...[Sir we can make a better film]' and then we will dissect the story. So, Ranbir is not just my friend but also a collaborator. We keep thinking of things we can do together. And hopefully, we'll do another film together very soon.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2013.

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