If you think Imtiaz Ali is just about romantic films then you are wrong because you have not gone through the real essence around his scripts. It is not possible for every writer-director to decipher the underlying soulful essence of the story and leaves a mesmerizing effect on cinegoer.
Imtiaz Ali is a legendary filmmaker who has given us some of the best and some of the weirdest movies Bollywood has ever seen. His passion for cinema has been seen since his college period when he first established Ibtida, the dramatic society of Hindu College, Delhi University.
The Darbhanga-born filmmaker has carved a niche for himself in contemporary Bollywood since he first debuted in 2005. His art is not limited to direction; writes the stories as well. The way he represents love is what no one ever does. For him, love is self-exploration through spiritual and emotional engagement with a partner.
Here is the list of some amazing movies directed by Imtiaz Ali. Let’s jump into this:
- Jab We Met (2007)
Jab We Met is a comic love story. The main lead Co-star of this film was in real-life relationship, that’s why the chemistry between Geet (Kareena Kapoor Khan) and Aditya (Shahid Kapoor) brings a realistic feel to the movie. It was a blockbuster hit and gave a boost to the directing career of Imtiaz Ali .
Kareena Kapoor Khan (Geet) played the character of a bubbly Punjabi girl and Shahid Kapoor (Aditya) played the character of a businessman who’s a mature, introvert and belongs to a well known rich family.
The film gave superhit dialogues too like-
“Mein apni favorite Hoon!”
“Sikhni hoon main Bhatinda ki !”
IMDb rating – 7.9/10
- Rockstar (2011)
Rockstar is about the love and passion of a boy who creates himself as a distinct personality. This movie features the legendary actor late Shammi Kapoor Sahab is a very special role. In the movie he, was the one to identify Jordan’s potential for singing and he got him his first break with Platinum records . The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Sanjna Sanghi, Shammi Kapoor, Aditi Rao Haidri.
The plot follows Janardhan Jakhar a.k.a JJ or Jordan, who dreams of becoming a rockstar like his role model, Jim Morrison. Eventually attaining all that he dreamt of, however, Jordan ends up anguished and despondent by the loss of Heer Kaul, whom he loved passionately and whose death is inadvertently caused by Jordan himself.
Rockstar was released on a very special date – 11.11.11 The date in itself signifies the love that is of spiritual connection.
IMDb rating: 7.7/10
- Highway (2014)
Highway is an Indian road drama film, released in 2014. It stars Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda. Alia Bhatt played the role of Veera, who was sexually abused by one of her relatives and was suppressing this pain since childhood. She wanted to escape from the world she’s living in. Later on, she gets kidnapped by Mahabir Bhati (Randeep Hooda) and discovers freedom in it.
The film is all about the journey of freedom and the organic love of Veera and Mahabir Bhati.
Metacritic gives the film a score 40 out of 100 indicating “mixed or average reviews”.
IMDb rating: 7.6/10
- Socha na tha (2005)
Socha na tha is a Hindi-language romantic comedy film. Abhay Deol made his debut in 2005 along with Ayesha Takia and Apoorva Jha.
The story moves around a boy who is forced to meet a girl for an arranged marriage but even though he refuses the match, they secretly become friends. As the things get complicated and both get engaged to different people, they realize they’ve fallen in love with each other.
The film marks the directorial debut of Imtiaz Ali and has done a good job in both capacities. Even though the movie flopped at the Box office and collected just 5.28 cr worldwide against the budget of 5 cr.
IMDb ratings: 7.4/10
- Tamasha (2015)
Tamasha is an Indian romantic and realistic film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Sajid Nadia Wala. It features Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor in lead roles. Tamasha has a mad charm and tells how the heart dominates the brain. The movie was a sleeper hit. It has cult following.
The film begins as an onstage skit as part of a spectacle by Ved (Ranbir Kapoor) and Tara (Deepika Padukone). The main focus of the story moves around the life of a man (Ranbir Kapoor) with borderline personality disorder is relieved in three stages: as a nine-year-old-child, a 19-year-old adolescent and a 30-year-old-adult.
Tamasha also received mixed reviews by the critics.
IMDb rating: 7/10
– Nisha Pathak