Imtiaz Ali: I do not make political statements in my films

Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali exudes a saint-like calmness, which is very surprising given that he is in a profession where tensions run high. In conversation with Sonal Kalra, Managing Editor (Entertainment & Lifestyle), Hindustan Times, at the Tension Not Twitter spaces session, the filmmaker said his craft is his secret to being calm.

“Filmmaking aisi cheez hai, aap hyper ho kar bhi kya kar loge? If you were hyper, why would you be a filmmaker? I feel since my regular life of a student, and as I was going to get into this profession, I drifted away towards creativity. Ab interest ka kaam hai, imagination ka, mazaa aata hai, tense wali feeling nahi hoti,” he said.

He added that though it won’t sound good, but it isn’t like he is a surgeon who has a patient in front of him. “I can make a bit more mistake than that guy. There’s no scene of tension in filmmaking,” said the 50-year-old.

The director of cult films like Jab We Met, Highway and Tamasha seemed almost like a Rockstar as excited listeners couldn’t hold back their questions. Excerpts:

@iamFirki: What’s with your obsession for travelling, almost every film of yours starts with that?

I love travelling, that’s the simplistic answer. I am from Jamshedpur, which is not a big city, so we had to travel to Delhi or Kolkata for every thing. I also studied in Delhi. My father used to take me on tours, he worked in irrigation projects. I would feel a weird romance while travelling. Vahi cheez abhi bhi chal rahi hai. I have a suspicion that I deliberately write films where I would get to travel!

@ARanganathan72: Is it a conscious decision to shy away from expressing your political inclinations, or you don’t have a political side?

I deliberately do not make political statements in my movies. The reason is not that I am scared of brickbats, if there comes a time when I want to say something political, I surely will. But the point is that, I understand the kind of reach films have, I don’t like to show ignorance that I might have for politics. I am not a politician, I don’t spend time understanding what is going on. Overall, politics is not interesting for me.

@thatzanychick: You have said in the past you like shooting songs, please tell us your favourite memory

There have been many memorable ones. One was Aaoge Jab from Jab We Met. I was embarrassed to shoot it because suddenly out of all the songs, this one seemed boring, slow, many people didn’t like it. I remember I used to tell the sound guy to only play the portion which we are shooting, not from the beginning. It’s a blessing that I am not a music person, but I get to hang out with people like Pritam, AR Rahman sir, tons of musicians and lyricists.

@sonalkalra: How many people have told you till date that they quit their jobs after watching Tamasha?

Many! I feel a sense of responsibility. I tell them ‘boss, do really well in your chosen profession,if you fail, then you will search me out, assault me that you quit because of me’ Over the years, a lot of people told me this. I am filled with responsibility.This is when the power of cinema jumps to me. Aap ek kahaani likhte hain, aapko andaaza nahi hota ki aisa asar padh sakta hai. This is why I try to make films from the heart and with as much honesty as I can.