Imtiaz Ali’s rockstar reappearance at Hindu College!

Sadda Haq Aithe Rakh, from the film Rockstar (2011), filled the auditorium at Hindu College, along with a huge round of applause, at the recently held interactive session of the literature festival of the college, Ambrosia 2022. That’s how an enthusiastic crowd welcomed the man behind the creation this song, director-writer Imtiaz Ali.

Queuing up to listen to him with a keen intent, students of the college felt enlivened by their super senior’s talk on his life from the time when he was living on campus, and how it reflects in his cinematic work even today. And following Ali upto the stage and crowding him from all sides, after the lit talk, most from the young brigade requested for selfies and autographs. Ali graciously agreed to one and all, and some lucky ones even got a hug and the chance to introduce themselves to him.

Also welcoming Ali to his alma mater were members of the college’s dramatics society, Ibtida, which was founded by Ali, during his college days.

‘Don’t always listen’

Ali nudged the young audience, asking “What’s so cool about being comfortable and successful?” He called for the need to sometimes challenge the boundaries of comfort and be vulnerable. “Sometimes it takes a lot of knocks and kicks for your heart to open. I’m a bit against playing safe! Current students of Hindu College should be a bit irreverent. Use this time to challenge yourself and the boundaries of society. Don’t always listen. Put across your views.  When I was studying here, I did the same, unfortunately, not because I had some vision,” he said as the crowd cheered him on.

‘Had banana split ice cream at senior’s break-up party’

Do you know that real life instances from Ali’s college life have made their way into his films? Well, this is true for an incident that happened in college and later led to the genesis of Love Aaj Kal (2009). Sharing how once his senior and his partner invited him to celebrate their break-up party in Kamla Nagar market, Ali said: “I even remember eating ice cream, All American Banana Split because it was the most expensive item on the menu! And this idea stayed with me and later became a file. The college and hostel life, and experience of Delhi University (DU) and the city have been reflected and represented in my work. And most of the movies have been set in Delhi. The houses of the day scholar friends became the genesis of so many lives, even the lingo is a bit like what we witness in DU.”

St Stephen’s vs Hindu and G-jams!

Calling his time in DU a prominent and influential one, when faced with the topic of rivalry between St Stephen’s College and Hindu College students, Ali pointed out how it was intense yet Hinduites would secretly visit Stephen’s to have the famous “G-jams.” And there’s an anecdote there as well. He went on to narrate: “There used to be a Mukherjee Memorial debate, and my roommate used to be one that belonged to a debater. We would tag along with him and there were times we won and times we lost, but the earthen flower pots in St Stephen’s, between the gate to the auditorium would always be broken. When we won, fewer were broken and if lost, all were broken. And even the senior Stephanians knew it and would make provisions for it (smiles).”

Friday nights turned movie nights during pandemic

One who associates with cinema as a viewer first and as a filmmaker later, Ali also shared how watching movies always tops his to-do list. “During the (lockdown in) pandemic, the building I stayed in was shared by a friend of mine. Every Friday we would run a movie on the projector, which was followed by hours of discussion over coffee. I have always been fond of the big screen experience and hadn’t watched a single show in my life, but the pandemic showed me what was happening in the global cinema.”

With so much time spent on virtual experience, Ali highlighted that he enjoys living in the present moment, and not through posts or lenses, and added: “I’m already so much invested into the virtual space. Most of the time I’m thinking of people who are characters from my movies. So there is already so much fiction in my life that I want to have real friends and experiences.”

‘Still dealing with my ordinariness’

“Meri zindagi mai agar koi tragedy nahi hai toh mai artist kaise banunga?” is the thought that would often jolt Ali when he was young, just like Jordon, the character of his film Rockstar. “I’m a middle class, central Indian, Jamshedpur boy. I was supposed to do engineering, which I left and came to Hindu College. I made Rockstar but even now, I’m still dealing with my own ordinariness. At times, it helps me relate to everybody but there are times I wish I could think of myself as a great guy. Now I’m old enough to know that this is how it’s going to be and maybe as a result of it, more movies will come out,” said Ali, sharing how proud he felt as a hosteller.

To shoot Rockstar in his alma mater was “inspirational” for him. “I knew the location better than anyone… However, my daughter, who was 11 when the movie released, didn’t like it then. She asked me ‘Dada why don’t you make more films like Jab We Met’ because it was light and funny. But, when she grew up, Rockstar became her favourite film!”

Author tweets @AngelaPaljor

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