Imtiaz Ali | |
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Born | Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India | 16 June 1971
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1994–present |
Spouse | Preety Ali (m. 1995) |
Children | 1 |
Relatives | Khalid Ahmed (maternal uncle) |
Imtiaz Ali (born 16 June 1971) is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for directing Jab We Met (2007), Love Aaj Kal (2009), Rockstar (2011), Highway (2014), Tamasha (2015) and Amar Singh Chamkila (2024).
Imtiaz Ali was born in Jamshedpur [1] [2] [3] and spent some of his early years in Patna. [4] [5] [6]
His father Mansoor Ali was a contractor who did irrigation job, and as a child he would sometimes accompany him, which gave Imtiaz a sense of what was going on in the innards of India. [7] His uncle, through his mother, is Pakistani TV actor and director/producer Khalid Ahmed. [8] [9] He had his early education in St. Michael's High School, Patna and later in D.B.M.S. English School, Jamshedpur. [10] [11] [12] He is the brother of director Arif Ali (who made his directional debut with the film Lekar Hum Deewana Dil .)
He attended Hindu College, University of Delhi, where he took part in college theater. He was very successful in college. He also started Ibtida, the dramatics society of the college. [13] Thereafter he moved to Mumbai and did a diploma course from Xavier Institute of Communication. [14] [15]
Ali began his career directing TV programs including Kurukshetra for Zee TV and Imtihaan for Doordarshan. [16] His initial work also includes a forty-five-minute slot telefilm for series Rishtey on Zee TV; [17] he later made the story into a feature film named Highway. He moved on to Bollywood films. In 2005, he made his directorial debut with the romantic comedy, Socha Na Tha , starring Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia. He got to direct the film following a meeting with Sunny Deol, who agreed to review his script and produce the film. Reflecting on this pivotal moment, Ali remarked that, "he didn’t ask me where I was from or about my experience. He holds a significant place in my life because he gave me my first film." [18] Upon release, it received mixed-to-positive reviews from the critics, but emerged as a commercial failure at the box office. [19] [20] He quoted, later in an interview, that it took him three years to make the film. [21]
His second directorial venture, the romantic comedy Jab We Met starring Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor, emerged as a major critical and commercial success. [22] [23] The film earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue, in addition to his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. It has been consistently ranked as one of the most popular romantic films of Bollywood. [24] [25]
His next film, the romantic comedy-drama Love Aaj Kal starring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, emerged as his biggest commercial success to date. [26] [27] The film received widespread critical acclaim, earning Ali his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. [28] [29] It has gone to achieve cult status, and has been acclaimed for its depiction of the feeling of pure love which never changes, although the perspective of realizing one's soulmate changes over time. [30] [31]
Ali's fourth directorial venture, the musical romantic drama Rockstar starring Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri, also emerged as a major commercial success at the box office and received widespread critical acclaim with high praise for Ali's direction, Kapoor's performance and A. R. Rahman's music. [32] [33] The film earned him his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. It has now achieved cult status, and also has been frequently ranked in the lists of most iconic musical romances of Bollywood. [34] [35]
Post Rockstar, Ali penned the story and screenplay for the romantic comedy-drama Cocktail (2012), directed by Homi Adajania, starring Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan and Diana Penty in lead roles. The film received positive reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a commercial success at the box office. [36] [37]
Ali founded his film production company, Window Seat Films in 2013, whose first release was the road drama Highway (2014). Starring Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, the film was highly appreciated by critics upon release, and also emerged as a commercial success at the box office. [38] [39] The film has been widely credited as one of Bollywood's best films depicting mental disorders (in this case, Stockholm syndrome). [40] [41]
His next directorial venture, the coming-of-age romantic drama Tamasha (2015), starred Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in lead roles. Despite major hype, the film emerged as a moderate commercial success, but received positive reviews with high praise for Kapoor's performance upon release; [42] [43] however, it has gone on to achieve cult status for its subject and has also been recognised as one of Ali's best films. [44] [45]
His next directorial, the romantic comedy Jab Harry Met Sejal starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma in lead roles, was released on 4 August 2017. The film released to mixed-to-negative reviews, and emerged as a commercial failure at the box office. [46] [47]
He then wrote the screenplay for his brother Sajid Ali's romance film Laila Majnu (2018), starring newcomers Avinash Tiwary and Tripti Dimri in lead roles. The film received mixed reviews upon release, and emerged as a commercial disaster at the box office. [48] [49]
After a gap of three years, his next directorial venture was the romantic drama Love Aaj Kal , starring Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan in lead roles. The film was the spiritual successor to Love Aaj Kal (2009), starring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, also directed by Ali. The film, which released on 14 February 2020, received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, and emerged as a commercial failure at the box office. [50] [51]
In his first film collaboration with Netflix, Ali directed Amar Singh Chamkila , a biopic on the assassinated Punjabi musician Amar Singh Chamkila, starring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra in the lead roles. [52] [53] It was released on 12 April 2024 to positive reviews from critics and audiences, alike. Many considered it to be a huge return to form for Ali. [54]
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Socha Na Tha | Yes | Yes | Also editor | |
2006 | Ahista Ahista | Yes | |||
2007 | Jab We Met | Yes | Yes | ||
2009 | Love Aaj Kal | Yes | Yes | ||
2011 | Rockstar | Yes | Yes | ||
2012 | Cocktail | Yes | |||
2014 | Highway | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2015 | Tamasha | Yes | Yes | ||
2017 | Jab Harry Met Sejal | Yes | Yes | ||
Paani Panchayat | Yes | Yes | Short [55] | ||
2018 | Laila Majnu | Yes | |||
The Other Way | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short | |
2020 | Love Aaj Kal | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2022 | Thai Massage | Yes | |||
2024 | Amar Singh Chamkila | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2024 | My Melbourne | Yes | Yes |
Acting credits
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2004 | Black Friday | Yakub Memon |
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Creator | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | Imtihaan | Yes | Unknown episodes | |||
2020–2022 | She | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2 seasons; 14 episodes | |
2022 | Dr. Arora | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8 episodes |
Collaborator | Socha Na Tha (2005) | Jab We Met (2007) | Love Aaj Kal (2009) | Rockstar (2011) | Highway (2014) | Tamasha (2015) | Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017) | Love Aaj Kal (2020) | Amar Singh Chamkila (2024) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ranbir Kapoor | |||||||||
Deepika Padukone | |||||||||
Randeep Hooda | |||||||||
Irshad Kamil | |||||||||
Sandesh Shandilya | |||||||||
A. R. Rahman | |||||||||
Pritam | |||||||||
Mohit Chauhan | |||||||||
Natty Subramaniam | |||||||||
Anil Mehta | |||||||||
Aarti Bajaj |
Below is a list of awards and nominations received by Imtiaz Ali.
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi cinema.
Year | Film | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Jab We Met | Best Director | Nominated | [56] [57] |
Best Dialogue | Won | |||
2010 | Love Aaj Kal | Best Director | Nominated | [58] |
Best Story | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Best Dialogue | Nominated | |||
2012 | Rockstar | Best Director | Nominated | [59] |
2015 | Highway | Best Story | Nominated | [60] |
The International Indian Film Academy Awards (shortened as IIFA) is an annual international event organised by the Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. to honour excellence in the Hindi cinema.
Year | Film | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Jab We Met | Best Director | Nominated | [61] [62] |
Best Story | Nominated | |||
Best Dialogue | Won | |||
2010 | Love Aaj Kal | Best Director | Nominated | [63] |
Best Story | Nominated | |||
2012 | Rockstar | Best Director | Nominated | [64] |
Best Story | Nominated | |||
2015 | Highway | Best Film | Nominated | [65] |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
The Producers Guild Film Awards (previously known as the Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards) is an annual event organised by the Film Producers Guild of India.
Year | Film | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Jab We Met | Best Director | Nominated | [66] [67] |
Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Best Dialogues | Won | |||
2010 | Love Aaj Kal | Best Director | Nominated | [68] [69] |
Best Story | Won | |||
Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Best Dialogues | Nominated | |||
2012 | Rockstar | Best Director | Nominated | [70] |
Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
2015 | Highway | Best Director | Nominated | [71] |
Best Story | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Best Dialogues | Nominated | |||
The Screen Awards are presented annually by Indian Express Limited to honour excellence in Hindi cinema.
Year | Film | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Jab We Met | Best Story | Nominated | [72] |
Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Best Dialogue | Nominated | |||
2010 | Love Aaj Kal | Best Director | Nominated | [73] [74] |
Best Story | Won | |||
Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Best Dialogue | Nominated | |||
2015 | Highway | Best Director | Nominated | [75] |
Year | Film | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | — | Kenya Tourism Board – IIFTC Tourism Impact Awards | Won | [76] |
2019 | Jab Harry Met Sejal | Portuguese Government – Portuguese Touristic Medal of Merit | Won | [77] [78] |
Neetu Kapoor is an Indian actress who is known for appearing in Hindi films throughout the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. In 2012, Kapoor was inducted into the Walk of the Stars, an entertainment hall of fame at Bandra Bandstand in Mumbai.
Saif Ali Khan is an Indian actor and film producer who primarily works in Hindi films. The current head of the Pataudi family, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Khan has won several awards, including a National Film Award and seven Filmfare Awards, and received the Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award in 2010.
Pritam Chakraborty, also popularly known mononymously as Pritam, is a National Award Winning Indian composer, instrumentalist, guitarist, music producer and singer from Kolkata, India. Graduating from FTII in Sound Engineering, he worked as an ad jingles composer, later he debuted as a co-composer in the 2001 Hindi film Tere Liye.
Jab We Met is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Dhilin Mehta under his banner Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. The film stars Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor with Tarun Arora, Saumya Tandon and Dara Singh in supporting roles.
Love Aaj Kal is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Saif Ali Khan and Dinesh Vijan under the production of Illuminati Films and Maddock Films. Starring Khan and Deepika Padukone, it features Rishi Kapoor and Giselli Monteiro in supporting roles with Neetu Singh in a special appearance. The film follows Jai and Meera's journey, and portrays the feeling of pure love which never changes, although the perspective of realizing one's soulmate has changed over time.
Giselli Monteiro is a Brazilian former model and Bollywood actress. She made her film-debut playing Harleen Kaur in the 2009 Bollywood film Love Aaj Kal, directed by Imtiaz Ali.
Dr. Irshad Kamil is an Indian poet and lyricist. His songs appeared in Bollywood films including Jab We Met, Chameli, Love Aaj Kal, Rockstar, Laila Majnu, Aashiqui 2, Raanjhanaa, Highway, Tamasha, Jab Harry Met Sejal, Kabir Singh, Dunki and Love Aaj Kal.
Parineeti Chopra is an Indian actress and singer who primarily works in Hindi films. Chopra is a recipient of several accolades, including a Filmfare and a National Film Award. Chopra has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2013.
Saif Ali Khan is an Indian actor who works in Indian films. He made his debut with a leading role in the drama Parampara (1993) and then starred in Aashik Awara (1993). Yeh Dillagi (1994). Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994). Tu Chor Main Sipahi (1996). Keemat: They Are Back (1998). Aarzoo (1999). Tashan (2008). Sanam Teri Kasam (2009) The latter earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut, but failed to do well commercially, as did his next three releases–Parampara (1993), Pehchaan (1993), and Imtihaan (1994). Later in 1994, Khan played supporting roles alongside Akshay Kumar in two of the highest-grossing films of the year–the romance Yeh Dillagi and the action drama Main Khiladi Tu Anari. For his performance in the latter, he was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. This success was followed by a series of commercial failures, leading to a setback in Khan's career.
Aaj Din Chadheya is a romantic Hindi-language song from the 2009 film Love Aaj Kal. The track is composed by Pritam, with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil. The song has been sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The music video of the song featured actors Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone. The song was placed in Filmfare's 60 most romantic Hindi songs ever list.
Tamasha (transl. Spectacle/Drama) is a 2015 Indian psychological coming-of-age romantic drama film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala from his studio, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. It stars Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. The film score and soundtrack album were composed by A. R. Rahman, while the lyrics for the songs were written by Irshad Kamil. Tamasha was filmed in the Indian cities of Shimla, Delhi, Gurgaon, and Kolkata, with additional filming in Tokyo and Corsica. The film tells the story of character Ved Vardhan Sahni in three stages–as a 9-year-old child, a 19-year-old adolescent and a 30-year-old adult in a nonlinear narrative.
Tamasha is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman with song lyrics by Irshad Kamil, to the 2015 Hindi film of the same name, directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in lead roles. The album features nine tracks, and was released on 16 October 2015 by T-Series. The songs cover genres like European dance, bhangra, opera, Hindustani classical and dubstep apart from experimental fusion of genres.
Sara Ali Khan Pataudi is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Born into the Pataudi family, she is the daughter of actors Amrita Singh and Saif Ali Khan. After graduating with a degree in history and political science from Columbia University, Khan began her acting career in 2018 with the romantic drama Kedarnath and the action comedy Simmba. Both films were commercially successful, and the former earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
Jab Harry Met Sejal, abbreviated as JHMS, is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali. It stars Anushka Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan in their third collaboration after Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012). Pre-production of the film began in April 2015 and principal photography commenced in August 2016 in Prague, Amsterdam, Vienna, Lisbon and Budapest.
Ajay Maurya, popularly known by his industry name Teddy Maurya, is an Indian film and theatre actor, director, writer, musician, production designer and art director.
Love Aaj Kal is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy-drama film directed by Imtiaz Ali and starring Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan in lead roles, with Randeep Hooda and Arushi Sharma in pivotal supporting roles. Principal photography began in the first half of March 2019 and ended in July 2019. It was released in India on Valentine's Day 2020.
Arushi Sharma is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and series. She made her acting debut with a minor role in Imtiaz Ali's film Tamasha (2015) and received recognition for her work in Ali's Love Aaj Kal (2020). Sharma has since starred in the Netflix drama film Jaadugar (2022) and series Kaala Pani (2023).
Amar Singh Chamkila is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film based on the life of musician Amar Singh Chamkila. It is directed, produced and co-written by Imtiaz Ali. The film stars Diljit Dosanjh in the titular role, with Parineeti Chopra as his second wife, Amarjot.
Jab Harry Met Sejal is the soundtrack to the 2017 film of the same name directed by Imtiaz Ali and stars Anushka Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan. The film's music is composed by Pritam and lyrics were written by Irshad Kamil. The soundtrack accompanied 13 songs which was released by Sony Music India on 30 July 2017.