Indian audiences have a greater range of interests than any filmmaker can imagine: Imtiaz Ali
Director Imtiaz Ali was in Kolkata on Thursday, visibly moved as his recent release continues to find love and adulation from audiences. With no grand speeches and no thank-yous prepared, the filmmaker – moist-eyed and emotional – walked into a packed South Kolkata theatre to thank his fans. We sat down with the ‘Kolkata fan’ as he spoke about why today’s youth crave old-fashioned love, his fascination with departures, hope that survives even after the
This film is rooted in history, so you’d expect older audiences to connect — but younger viewers have embraced it just as passionately. Did you see that coming? What’s the secret behind that connection?
I never really expected anything – you just hope people like it. But I knew Main Vaapas Aaunga was contemporary. Though set in the past, it’s told through Diljit’s character, a modern, world-facing young man grappling with emotional displacement, commitment issues, aimless searching, and constantly running away – struggles today’s youth know well. So the film is deeply rooted in the present. The strongest reactions have come from the youngest viewers. They may not have a relationship like Ishwar-Jiya, but they aspire to.
A still from Love Aaj Kal which talks about goodbyes
In Love Aaj Kal there is the famous line, “Jaane se pehle milna kyun zaroori hota hai?” In your new film too, there is a recurring motif of seeking permission before leaving. In your films, departures seem just as significant as arrivals. What draws you to that idea?
As Shakespeare said, “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” It is only affection and fondness that make you linger over a goodbye because you feel you are losing something valuable. In fact, it is often when you part with someone or something that you truly realise its value. There’s also a saying that a city looks most beautiful in the light of a burning bridge. When you leave something, it becomes even sweeter in memory. That is why goodbyes are both beautiful and painful. Anything truly beautiful cannot exist without sadness. Even the most beautiful songs in the world are often sad. At the same time, every departure is also an arrival. Every ending is also a beginning.
Your characters are always travelling, searching for someone, something, or home. Has your idea of home evolved?
Every film teaches me something new about home. After the film, I feel home is a version of yourself as you were when you were home – like Ishwar missing who he was as Keenu, as much as he misses Jiya . Maybe Jiya represents who Keenu himself was then, and that’s what Ishwar longs to return to before moving on.
The song Dariya flows through Bengali, Punjabi and Hindi. What made you decide the song should exist in three languages? Was it your way of saying emotions transcend borders & languages?
I wanted to acknowledge that the Partition happened in Punjab and Bengal. The film’s geography is Punjab, so characters speak Punjabi, but I included a Bengali section to recognise Bengal’s experience too.
Audiences have embraced Dhurandhar and your new film. Is there a learning here for filmmakers?
The biggest lesson is that audiences have an incredible range of interests. People can enjoy many different kinds of cinema. They don’t approach theatres with some strategic expectation about what they should appreciate. Their taste is much broader than any one filmmaker’s ability to make films. That is a heartening thing. As long as a film is appealing and entertaining, audiences are willing to embrace it regardless of genre or convention. The first half of 2026 has been wonderful for Indian cinema. After a long time, audiences have returned to theatres in large numbers, and everyone in the industry is very happy about that.
Most of your male characters are emotionally expressive, vulnerable and sensitive. They stand out as they’re very different from conventional heroes?
I don’t really have a fixed idea of masculinity. Even if I did, I wouldn’t consciously put it into my films because I always follow the story. The men in my stories are simply the people the stories require. They generally appreciate women and are sensitive towards them because that reflects my own experiences. The women I have met in my life have influenced the way I understand relationships, and naturally that reflects in my films. On a personal level, I have been especially happy with the way young women have responded to Vedang’s role in the film. It breaks certain misconceptions.
Did you expect the film to eventually reach audiences the way it has?
Yes, and now it does. This is truly a film that has been carried forward by its audience. It’s almost as if audiences decided that the marketing wasn’t enough and took it upon themselves to promote the film and make sure it succeeded. That is exactly what has happened. The reason I’m travelling across cities like Kolkata, Jhansi and Jaipur is simply to meet people and thank them for giving so much love to a film like this. The depth of the emotional response has genuinely surprised me. I never expected reactions of this intensity. That’s why I want to experience it in theatres while it is happening because it feels too precious to miss.
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