Last Updated on : 3rd August, 2017


Most Loved movies :
Rockstar > Tamasha > Love Aaj Kal > Jab We Met > Highway 

Disliked movies : 
None

Yet to watch : 
Socha na Tha

Fav Songs : 
Tum se hi (Jab We Met), Main kya hoon (Love Aaj Kal), Jo bhi Main (Rockstar), Saadda Haq (Rockstar), Tum Ho (Rockstar), Aur Ho (Rockstar), Patakha Guddi (both versions, Highway), Maahi Ve (Highway), Matargashti (Tamasha), Safarnama (Tamasha) 

Best Scene : 
• Jordan telling Khatana in middle of a road that he isnt happy despite getting all the fame (Rockstar)
• Jordan hugs Heer and asks what feeling is this, just before Aur Ho song starts (Rockstar)
• The entire Tara-Ved sequence from start of introducing as Don and Mona, and continuing till end of Matargashti song (Tamasha)
• Tara telling Ved that he isn't the same guy anymore she met as Don in Corsica (Tamasha)
• Geet asking TT whether he is convinced or she needs to say more (Jab We Met)
• Geet-Aditya conversation in Ratlam ki gali (Jab We Met)
• Jai realizing how that last good-bye is so important when someone you love is leaving at airport (Love Aaj Kal)
• Jai conversation with Meera on the wedding night (Love Aaj Kal)
• Veera telling Mahabir that she doesn't want this journey to ever end (Highway)



Imtiaz Ali has in short time become one of my very favs in romantic genre and possibly many others too. There are numerous directors who make romantic movies, but what seperates them from Imtiaz is the real feel he brings to the movies.. the situations and dialogues aren't over the top. He brings the vulnerability in characters very well, a reason why many people don't like his cinema as they get un-comfortable watching films which in a way questions them or people they would know in real life. Most of the times the character in Imtiaz movies goes through a self-discovery phase trying to find what he/she has been missing till now in their life. Like Aditya (Shahid Kapoor) in Jab we Met is broken but finds a new way to live life after meeting Geet (Kareena Kapoor). In Love Aaj Kal, Jai (Saif Ali Khan) doesn't take love seriously until he finds the job he dreamt of having one day not giving him any satisfaction at all because all he wants is to be with Meera (Deepika Padukone). Or Jordan (Ranbir Kapoor) in Rockstar who becomes a great musician only after meeting Heer (Nargis Fakhri),  the time spent away from her brings the best music out of him and he doesn't even realize how quickly fame is reaching him. With time he realizes, that his love for Heer has overtaken his dream of becoming a famous musician.. but its too late.

There's Veera (Alia Bhatt) who has gone through child abuse, and wants to break out of fake society norm, live the life the way she wants, the freedom she finds with Mahabir (Randeep Hooda) when he kidnaps him taking her to a journey she wants to never end. And then there's Ved (Ranbir Kapoor) who since childhood wanted to be a storyteller but bows down to parents demand of a regular job and be a robotic person like others, until he meets Tara (Deepika Padukone) who shakes up his life as she is able to see the real Ved which others haven't. It doesn't come as a surprise to me when I see Imtiaz getting labelled as modern 'Yash Chopra' but if I had to choose one, I will go Imtiaz way. Also his movies are never stuck at one place, a character is always travelling to some different city/country and it ends up having some kind of effect on him/her. 


Rockstar is above all for me and that comes as no surprise. Though what surprises me is Imtiaz saying in a interview that he felt the 2nd half wasn't well done, he could had directed better, which he actually feels for most of his films. But then, I personally don't see any change required, maybe loving imperfect things gives more pleasure. I still like watching Jab We Met  as its his most entertaining movie till now. But, the level Imtiaz has reached in Rockstar, Highway and Tamasha, that makes Jab We Met look not so spectacular. That makes me wonder if Imtiaz would outdo Rockstar one day ? Its very much like asking will Nolan ever make a film as spectacular as Prestige or The Dark Knight ? The answer in both cases at present is No! 

I remember how I felt wierd to see some of the people I knew online when Love Aaj Kal released, who had loved the film, and here I was battling to even like it due to lack of connect. I almost kept forcing myself to find the love for film, watching it 3 times. But, as its said.. jo hona hai woh hona hai. One day I bunked college class, and went to watch movie in a casual mood for a 4th watch and that was the time, the movie finally hit me big time.

A confession to make here, there's not a single Imtiaz movie that actually worked fully at 1st watch for me. Its like Rahman music, keeps growing with each watch until you realize 'Oh fuck, I madly love this film'. 

Both Rockstar and Love Aaj Kal go on similar ways, their 1st half entertains completely and 2nd half brings scenes and dialogues that you may not accept because the character behaves the way you aren't expecting it to. Meera in Love Aaj Kal saying to her husband, that she will leave him as she loves Jai and further says 'Main tumse baad mein maafi maang lungi'. That single dialogue had almost everyone in theatre laugh hard, unintentionally ofcourse. I wont deny that even now I may not feel comfortable watching that scene, and I don't really have a valid reason. Maybe we say stupid things when we have no control over our feelings, don't we? 

Similarly in Rockstar, Heer tries to stop Jordan going further in their love when he kisses her, but she can't control her own feelings either.. as a result another scene created laughter. This time, I was with the character, not the audience. 'Aur Ho' I would describe as Imtiaz's best filmed song till now, two lovers who want to be together but the thought of society keeps stopping them, what should they listen to, their heart or the reality of life. It brought out the vulnerable moments of Jordan and Heer very beautifully.  

Highway is only Imtiaz movie that despite being narrated in a lighthearted manner like his other movies, still ends up more serious. There's that amazing scene where Veera completely lets her anger out at the people who are related with her family. Not to forget, Highway was the film that showcased Alia has acting talent (which her debut SOTY didn't), and she hasn't disappointed ever since. I have rated Highway at last, but it still has the appeal factor me, just that I prefer other movies more.

Tamasha would easily be Imtiaz's most tough movie to understand, not for the way he presents it, but the mindset Imtiaz shows of Ved, the constant daily fight he goes through with himself, and in film we get to see only the portions after he meets Tara. Just think how it would had been even before (few flashbacks Imtiaz does show where he is angry trying to focus for some college assignment), going to a routine job that doesn't give him satisfaction and yet consoling himself at mirror to not divert away, this is the best for you.  Every conversation that Ved has with Tara post interval makes for a great watch, its a pity Deepika gets small role in 2nd half but then maybe we won't have been so invested in Ved then.

I have always loved how Imtiaz has handled romantic moments in his films, and then the moments that come after that including the troubles, pain, misery or the vulnerabilities character faces. Its only Tamasha where I actually prefer the entertaining portion more, the entire Corsica  sequence made me feel like this should just go on and on, don't end this chapter.  

Music has always been great in Imtiaz movies, Pritam for Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal giving good punjabi flavour. 'Tumse Hi' by Mohit is still one of the songs I love listening to. 'Aaoge jab tum' however never works for me. 'Main Kya hoon' was something only Imtiaz could had done, a character repeating a particular act on daily basis and slowly the fun becomes a boring habit and eventually a work that gave pleasure during start of song, starts giving him headache as the song ends. Rahman with Rockstar brought best album of his career (probably for me atleast). Mohit's 'Jo bhi main', 'Saadda Haq'  and 'Aur Ho' still gives me the same great feeling they did 6 yrs back. And 'Tum ho' I like listening whenever I feel like putting on romantic songs. Mohit Chauhan continued his trend of giving his best songs when working with Imtiaz with 'Matargashti' in Tamasha and also there's lovely rendition of  'Safarnama' by Lucky Ali. Like film, music of Highway didn't appeal to me completely, Rahman's 'Maahi Ve' was soulful, but the slow tracks and lullaby weren't my cuppa of tea. Best takeaway though was it gave Nooran Sisters 'Patakha Guddi' to our industry, I totally adore their singing. 

Another thing in Imtiaz films is the casting. Shahid and Kareena was perfect, but what a timing it was for Imtiaz to get the film done with. If the breakup happened much before shooting started, everyone would had lost a great character of Geet because I don't see any other actress doing that role perfectly. Then, Saif and Deepika were unusual pair but the moment Love Aaj Kal trailer came out.. it appeared that its going to work. Only question was will Saif pull off the sardar role, which he did. 

With Rockstar, Imtiaz tried new actress who didn't knew hindi, as a result in film her voice is dubbed by some other girl. But, she didn't disappoint with her performance. I personally feel that if you haven't loved her in Rockstar, then you don't have the right to say that you loved the film. And as I had said, some roles demand imperfect actors so I disagree everytime I see someone say Deepika or for that matter any other actress would had been better.

Then, there was unusual pairing of Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, which I felt won't work when trailer came but it did. Whatever my views on the film are (I hope they change when I get time to watch film with Imtiaz dvd commentary), Alia-Randeep not only were a pleasant fresh pair but they also gave top-notch performances. Tamasha was the only instance when Imtiaz went for established actors, Ranbir-Deepika which I feel was again perfect choice, there was too much in the script to risk a newcomer or for that matter Tara-Ved roles are tailor-made for Ranbir and Deepika.

Next up is 'Jab Harry Met Sejal', Imtiaz is trying to move away from the 'he makes heavy films' tag, by trying a light-hearted happy movie. Its first Imtiaz movie where I am going to theatres tomorrow feeling that disliked movies 'none' may change in this post. All because of very average music of Pritam (songs released till now) and promos where Shahrukh doesn't seem to have come out of his starry mode. Remember the scene in Love Aaj Kal where Deepika taunts Saif at breakup party that he must have forgotten to flirt in 2 years 'aadat daal lo, jang lag gaya hoga', that resembles Shahrukh who despite doing good films since Fan, isn't able to act as good as he used too, the sideffect of doing bad films! I know its suppose to be a happy film, but I would so love to be surprised with a ending where Harry doesn't end up with Sejal at climax. If Imtiaz can make it more than just a happy rom-com movie, then I am still in for it.