‘Socha Na Tha got together people who had the fire to prove themselves’
On this day, 15 years ago, when Socha Na Tha released, the film didn’t create much impact at the box office. However, over the years, the movie emerged as one of the best modern love stories in Bollywood. Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali, in his directorial debut, stayed away from Hindi film love story clichés to tell a heartfelt tale of Viren and Aditi played by Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia, respectively.
“When I look back at the film, I see it as a project which brought together a small, nice group of people, who were innocent but had fire to prove themselves,” reminiscences Ali.
The filmmaker also clocks 15 years in the film industry today and since his debut, the 48-year-old has gone on to direct several love stories including Jab We Met (2007), Love Aaj Kal (2009), Rockstar (2011), Tamasha (2015), Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017) and the recent, Love Aaj Kal.
“I’ve always felt that with every film, I have tried to get into a territory I’ve not entered before. That’s the reason I decided not to direct a film like Cocktail (2012), which I wrote, because I’ve had that flavour in a previous film, Jab We Met. Instead I chose to direct Love Aaj Kal,” he says.
Reflecting on his journey in Bollywood, Ali says he has been constantly learning new things, while retaining the old thought process. “I’m happy I did a film like Highway (2014). It was like suddenly I wanted to do a small budget film, so that I could cleanse myself of the dirty habits as an established film director. When I look at my films, I feel that I have to constantly cleanse myself. I learn more things. But, they can’t take me away from my basic interest in life,” he says
In all his films, the theme of self-discovery forms a very important crux in the story. So, does it happen when a film is conceived? “Every film starts from a certain point and then it works its way. Self discovery is not the first thing in many films — Highway was about something else. I don’t first install that and then build a story. The characters move on and get into the self discovery zone gradually as the film progresses,” he says.
Juhi Chakraborty
I’ve always felt that with every film, I have tried to get into a territory I’ve not entered before. That’s the reason I decided not to direct Cocktail. IMTIAZ ALI FILMMAKER