Talented Mr. Ali

My fourth interview, which was with Mr. Imtiaz Ali, was a rather special one. Not for me but for Rohit of Naachgaana.com, Imtiaz is his favorite director and he couldn’t wait for this post to be put up.

The venue was the ever-famous Prithvi theatre at sharp 9 pm. Like always I was stuck at work and had to delay the meeting by an hour from eight’o clock to nine.

On reaching Prithvis I saw Makrand Deshpande, sharing a table with his theatre buddies and couple of other friends. I decided to drop-in a ‘hi’, a little later. Standing at the entrance I tried searching the other tables for Imtiaz, but without any luck. Since I had no clue what he looked like, I called him to make sure our interview was still on.

Imtiaz answers the phone and tells me he is sitting with Makrand, so once again I look back at Makrand’s table, still unable to figure out the correct person. I walked up to the table and that’s when Makrand introduced me to Imtiaz.

A man in his mid-thirties, shoulder length wavy hair, dressed in casual white summer shirt paired with blue jeans. A young director with slow, subtle mannerisms and an expressionless face.

Makrand on the other hand was all out praising me (or maybe pulling my leg) for my good questions and non-journalist behaviour. He started telling Imtiaz how my questions were only profession oriented and there was no interrupting from my side whiles he was answering them. Further he warned Imtiaz “naap-toal ke jawab dena….question list bade lambe hai”.

A cautioned Imtiaz and I walked to a near-by table….and the interview began.

BOLLYWOOD

Please tell us something about your creative background and your venture in Bollywood?

I come from a small city called Jamshedpur. Right through college days I took part in theatre, was a part of amateur and professional theatre. Started with acting in plays and then gradually moved on to writing.

Then I moved to Delhi for further studies and joined Hindu College. I was the one responsible for starting a drama group. Outside college I also joined another drama group by the name ‘Act 1’. But I always wanted to get into full-fledged directing. So after few years in Delhi, I moved to Mumbai.

In Mumbai after struggling for a few months, I got a break as a director for Television serials. I did ‘Purushetra’ for Zee TV and ‘Imtihaan’ for Star Plus. But I was not feeling fulfilled as a director, then when I knew I wanted to be a part of Bollywood.

How did “Socha Na Tha” come about?

I had written this story and had the whole idea and screenplay in mind. Star TV wanted to make it as a Tele-serial. But I wasn’t too sure of it. Plus things were not working with Star Plus. Later on, I met a few producers and luckily was able to find one.

I wanted to cast a new guy for the main lead and through a friend I met Abhay Deol. Abhay some-how perfectly fitted the character that I had in mind, so I launched him as the lead. Once Sunny Deol got to hear that a member of the Deol family was acting in a movie, he wanted to hear the story and get more information. I met up with Sunny; it took me 5 hours to narrate the story to hi. He liked the whole concept and was ready to produce it.

Some critics say that SNT was very much inspired by the south movie, “Dum Dum Dum”; please respond.

Really! I have no clue about this. I would like to know more about this film; strangely no one has come up to me about this.

As a matter of fact, couple of South production companies has approached me for the film rights of ‘Socha Na Tha’, since they liked the film. Now if my movie is a South re-make, then why would these guys approach me?

How did you hone in Abhay and Ayesha for the lead role, when you could have gone with an already established star cast.

Initially I did have pressure to cast established actors, but my story demanded someone without any screen presence. More of a ‘guy next door’, since the character had an un-predictable nature. He was the dark horse of the family, people could relate to. For me Abhay suited the role very well. He is not your extremely good-looking hero, or a guy with big muscles…he does come across as a boy next door. Plus he is a very talented actor.

Since I was casting a new guy, I needed to get a new girl as well. I tested over a 1000 girls, but none fitted the character that I had in mind. Finally, I saw Ayesha’s audition tape of an ad film and I knew she would fit the bill perfectly. She has this emotional depth even at such a young age and that’s what my character demanded.

What caused the delay in releasing of SNT?

Well delay was not just restricted to releasing of film but also the making of the film. The Deols, who were the producers, were going through a bad financial patch. At that time they were also making ‘Bhagat Singh’ and since there was another ‘Bhagat Singh’ by Raj Kumar Santoshi also being released, it was more like a competition. And because of all this my film took a beating.

Did you feel let down by the Deols because of all the delay?

Sunny was absolutely frank with me about the whole financial situation. Plus I found myself in a position of keeping the whole unit in-tact. Since most of the people involved with the project were first-timers, so I had to keep their spirits high. I couldn’t allow myself to be affected by all the troubles.

SNT did fairly well, so does it help in sort-off forecasting what the audience will want?

Yes, in the sense you get to learn a lot. I saw the film in various cities and theatres, since it helps understand the audience’s response better. But I don’t believe in taking un-fair advantage of this knowledge. A story needs to come from within. The bottom line is that the audience likes a good film and that’s what one should try to make.

What do you think about the censor board’s stand in today’s Bollywood?

I do feel certain films have been brutalized by the censor board and other such agencies. But it’s very difficult to say whether the presence of censor board helps or not. Though I personally feel that we should leave it to the people, let them choose what they want to or not want to see.

On the other hand, if you go ahead with the censor board then you should let their decision be final.

What is the most frustrating thing about directing for you?

Nothing is that frustrating. But for me, the problem is that after I finish my work, I start hating it. I am not at all a good audience of my own work. When I look at it, I feel maybe I could have done it better. I become very critical. Otherwise I am a very easy-going person.

Do you think there is a lack of good scripts in Bollywood? If so, why?

In my opinion there is a lack of good writers in Bollywood, or I would say in Mumbai film industry. We basically kill good writers by not respecting their work. Many are forced into direction at a time not suited for them, plus money is another big issue. These guys are paid peanuts and all these reasons contribute to the problem. We have to respect our writers and only then will the industry progress.

How would you describe your relationship with the Deol Family?

Oh! I absolutely love them. They are more like my family rather than some business camp. I can go there anytime and demand practically whatever I wish. I am very close to Dharamji; he is a very nice man. They are just wonderful people. I have unquestionable respect for the Deols. Even when it came to my film, they never interfered with my work. They gave me full freedom and above all they trusted me completely.

Which actor/actress you would like to work with in the near future?

Too many of them to choose from.

Still there must be some favorites?

I don’t want to name a few and get the others pissed off. Basically it all depends on the story I have in mind. The story comes first, then the characters and then the actors.

What is your take on ‘casting couch’ in Bollywood?

Frankly, I am very disappointed to find that it does not exist. I was so very much looking forward to it when I joined the industry. I even asked veteran actors like Sanjay, Sunny and they all gave me this sad news. So ya…I am very disappointed to say that it does not exist at all.

Any of the recent movie, you wish you were part off? What’s your take on movie “Black”?

Not many recent movies have made a huge impact on me. Though I loved ‘Rang De Basanti’. There are a few recent Hollywood and foreign language films that I have liked.

Black in my opinion was an Okay film. Frankly I wasn’t highly impressed. I mean the director has done a brilliant job, but I was just not able to relate to the movie, the sets, the time era or the city it was set in. For that matter I have worked with many blind institutes and they don’t behave or act in the way as shown in the film. In short, I just could not relate to the film.

What movie genres hold special interest for you?

Frankly, I don’t understand genres very well. So it’s hard for me to comment on it. I prefer stories on real people, on relationships. But stories can be of many minds, of any and many nature. So it’s really hard to restrict oneself to a particular type of story line or theme.

How would you define ‘crossover cinema’?

Again the same problem here. I have been confused ever since I heard the term ‘crossover’. From what I can understand it means; when people across boundaries come to make a film. But for someone else it could mean totally different.

Do you find Indian television to be more creative and dynamic than Bollywood? How would you compare the working styles?

I have spent 7 years directing tele-serials. But I realized that I was not cut-of for this line. Both the mediums are totally different. Television is more of factor based product. Here budget, timings, etc are decided first. Where as films are more off market value based. Here things like budget, locations, timings, etc keep changing according to what is most suited at that moment.

Quality of tele-serials at the moment is real low. But with time people will think differently and things will surely change. Quality television can be witnessed overseas, but they too developed it over the years. It’s all a part of the evolution process.

You did a small stint in movie “Black Friday”, how did that come about?

Oh! This was an un-fortunate incident. Anurag Kashyap is a very close friend of mine. He basically emotionally blackmailed me into playing the part. At first he said it was a very small role, but once I started acting I realized that it wasn’t as small as he had indicated.

Did you find the highly emotional scenes in the film, very draining?

Well when you are on the sets these things don’t affect you much. But yes, there is this sinking feeling even after you leave the set. You can’t help yourself from thinking about the suffering of these people.

What’s your take on the release of this film?

I find all of this really annoying. The censor board has cleared the movie for release, then why should the court interfere. Agreed, Anurag has named the characters based on real people accused for bombings but that should not be the reason to put a stay order on the film. If the court feels these people are innocent then why are they still in jail? And if they think they are not, then why should they have a problem if the movie names these very people.

I just feel that they are setting a very bad precedent. Tomorrow anyone can get up and appeal for a stay order against a film.

FORTHCOMING FILMS

Can you tell us something on your new and forthcoming films?

There are three films in the pipeline. All of them are un-titled as of now. One is with Vipul Shah, the other with UTV and with the Deols. All of them are definitely going on floor.

There are rumors that you would be directing a sequel to old super hit film “Betaab”, is it true? What are your views on the ‘re-make’ or ‘sequel’ trend?

Nope. I don’t know how these rumors get out. All I know is that Sunny was toying with the idea and he had spoken to me about it, that’s it!

Sequels are fine with me. If people don’t mind watching an extended version of what they have seen previously then there is no problem at all. But I will never go in for re-makes. They are just not my style. I had been approached by a few producers, who wanted me to make some Hollywood film e.g. Top Gun, in Hindi but I just could not do it. They might as well buy the rights of these Hollywood films and dub them in Hindi. Titanic did very well even in the Hindi version.

OTHER INTERESTS

Tell us your top 5 International films/ Indian films.

Sholay, Underground (Russian), Talk to her (Spanish), Madhumati and In the mood for love. There is frankly nothing from the recent lot.

Who was the first actor/director you ever idolized, maybe as a child.

I never idolized any actor or director. But I admired a few directors. For example, Bimal Roy and Vijay Anand. Plus there are a few foreign directors as well.

Mr. Ali comes across as a very intelligent man; a man who is yet not sucked in by the glitzy world of stardom. Maybe it’s his disciplined theatre up-bringing that has helped him in being rooted to hard roads of Bollywood. On the other hand it’s good see young breed of directors who are ready to give the Indian audience some originality rather than sticking out with the new and tested trends such as re-making of DVD films. Hopefully our talented Mr. Ali will stick to words and present us with more real and heart-felt films. Here’s wishing all the very best.

By the way, this happens to be my quickest interview; 45 minutes flat. On my pouring this bit of information to Mr. Ali, with a grinny smile he replied, “I had been warned”.

Over and out.

• Bollywood, Interview, Mumbai
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