I didn’t intend to be a producer, but I had to do it: Imtiaz Ali

Film-maker talks about making Highway his way.

MUMBAI: Director Imtiaz Ali, of Rockstar fame, has turned producer for his upcoming film Highway.

“I am not a producer. I didn’t intend to produce, but for this one I had to do it. I did not want the film to become a victim of the movies that I have made before, and somebody ends up losing money,” said the director, who called the shots behind the camera for hits like Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal.

“I will know how much money I have put into it and will make sure we don’t take a huge amount of money and kill anybody over here. Producing the film gave me the creative ability to tell people, ‘Don’t worry, do it.’ I am the producer and I know that.”

Talking about the prevalence of a few famous faces in Bollywood, Imtiaz said: “The Star system will change, but in some way or the other it will remain [the same]. Sometimes the directors are the star, like Yash Chopra and Subash Ghai, and sometimes the actors are.”

“I feel that there is a reason why somebody reaches that status and deserves to be there. I think everyone in the industry has to manage between the story he has to tell and the finance that he needs in order to do that.”



He says that “goodwill” is very important if one seek to accomplish anything in Bollywood. “In the industry, money is not as important as goodwill. Goodwill is like a hen, which lays eggs and money,” said Imtiaz.

After working with established stars like Saif Ali Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, Imtiaz has roped in Randeep Hooda and newcomer Alia Bhatt for his latest film Highway.

“I have tried to be honest with my profession. If you have a story, you should cast people depending on the role and not on the basis of their stardom. If I do that, then my scope as a director and my growth will finish. I need to cast according to the role. Alia and Randeep were my first choice,” he said.

The director is in no mood to reveal Randeep’s character in the film.”We don’t want to expose his character right now because I feel there is an inherent mystery in that character,” said Imtiaz.

It appears that the film is one that is very close to the director’s heart, for the story of Highway has been on Imtiaz’s mind for the past 15 years. He has been able to bring his vision to the screen only now.

“Sometime you have a story, but as a director you are not competent enough to make it. As the audience is now ready to welcome different kinds of films, they don’t want to watch typical films — I think it is the right time,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2013.

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