Why Jab We Met didn’t have a rosy start!

It goes without saying that Imtiaz Ali’s Jab We Met (2007) is considered a modern-day cult classic but not many know that the romcom had a classic journey of its own. As the film-maker turned 47 on June 16, he goes down the memory lane about how he started his film-making journey. “The making process of Socha Na Tha (SNT; Imtiaz’s first film) went on for four years. During that period, I obviously wasn’t shooting most of the days. So, I was jobless most of the time (laughs),” says Imtiaz. In order to pass time, he started working on other stories and scripts. “And that became a boon. So, by the time SNT got over, I had three-four ideas for Jab We Met (JWM), Rockstar (2011), Cocktail (2012) and Highway (2014),” he says. But that’s when the real journey kick-started for him. “I tried to make Highway, but that did not happen. Maybe, the time and things weren’t right [at that time]. Then, Rockstar and Cocktail also didn’t work out. In fact, I tried to make JWM two-three times but that also didn’t happen. It could be because I was a new guy, and so people were apprehensive about working with me,” he says.

But Imtiaz feels “there is a natural process through which a story or a film gets baked over a period of time”. “Over a couple of years, of course, JWM and other films happened. After a couple of years, I couldn’t afford [to follow the process of working on multiple ideas at the same time]. After all, you also have to take care of your financial needs. So, you feel that you got to do a film which is ready. It’s also because you don’t know when you will be ready with the next film,” says the film-maker.

But now, Imtiaz is elated that “he is in the same situation that I was after SNT” because of a coproduction deal with a major film studio. “Now, I have the resources to be able to work on many stories that I have, and I want to make all of them,” he says.

Imtiaz Ali