All the Imtiaz Ali admirers are waiting for his upcoming Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma-starrer ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ earnestly. A week ago, he released the poster of his upcoming on his Twitter account and the movie buffs went berserk. Just like any of his movies, you cannot get even the slightest gist of the movie from the poster. Let it be a surprise, a pleasant one, for now. Imtiaz Ali, the name which epitomizes offbeat cinema and movies with deep implications, was born today, that is on 16th June, 46 years ago. He has always been loved and lauded for his flair in movies that ,in point of fact, left an impact on our mind for long. Some of his movies didn’t succeed to do wonders on box office, but the BO numbers isn’t the thing he craves for. Started his career with TV shows, he moved to directing movies with ‘Socha Na Tha’.
So on his 46th birthday, let’s take a look back on Imtiaz Ali’s contribution to Indian cinema and our life, till now.
Socha Na Tha
It marked the directorial debut of the renowned writer. The film featured Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia in the lead roles. Though the movie tanked at box office, but critics couldn’t stop praising the minimalism and depth of the story. It is one of the simplest yet genuine love stories you can ever see in Indian cinema. Here’s one of many notable dialogues from the movie.
“Samaaj, mazhab sab apni jagah hai, lekin pyaar sabse upar hai”
Jab We Met
This movie gave a significant turn to his directorial career. It was lauded, both critically and on Box Office reports as well. Though the story was clichéd about a bubbly girl and a sorted man eventually falling in love, it takes immense fortitude for a director to bring it out as a fresh piece to audience. That’s where ‘Jab We Met’ scored all the points. And here comes the dialogue which is extensively by the young generation.
“Jab koi pyar mein hota hai ... toh koi sahi galat nahin hota”
Love Aaj Kal
Imtiaz Ali’s biggest commercial hit till date, this movie defined the feeling of love in most rational and simplistic manner. It drew an parallel on how love changes its way of expression with generations, though the crux being the same. This movie still sits on the pedestal of being one of the most practical yet beautiful love stories of Indian cinema.
Jaane se pehle, ek aakhri baar milna kyun zaroori hota hai?
Highway
My personal favourite and the milestone for Imtiaz Ali, this movie requires no introduction or description. No one could’ve ever imagined such a divine connection taking birth on the filthy routes as it did in the movie. Such is the finesse of Imtiaz Ali as a director, he brought the best out of Alia Bhatt, who wasn’t acclaimed as a brilliant actress ever before Highway. She was a surprise package, but the movie was unsurprisingly exceptional. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Story. Truly, one couldn’t get out Veera and Mahaveer’s platonic love story out of their head.
Jahan se tum mujhe laaye ho main wahan wapas nahi Jana chahti....Par yeh raasta bohut acha hai ,main chahti hoon ki yeh raasta kabhi khatam na ho
We’re waiting for yet another film to add to the list, ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’. We’ll have to hang around till August to experience Imtiaz Ali magic on the big screen again. Till then, Happy Birthday Imtiaz Ali!
