Director Imtiaz Ali talks about his latest movie: Jab We Met

1. What made you decide to make Jab We Met after Socha Na Tha?

The script really worked for me. It's a very contemporary film. I'm very fascinated by the romanticism inherent in our lives and I have tried to depict that in Jab We Met.

1. Tell us a few lines about the film

Jab We Met is a film about two strangers, completely opposite each other in terms of temperament, behavior and how they are thrown towards each other in different situations that take them to various places! It is a beautiful story about life, travel, very young and fresh and a magical journey of two extremely different people who meet while traveling and how their life unfolds.

1. What made you sign Shahid and Kareena Kapoor for the film?

Well, since the film is about how two strangers meet and fall in love in the due course of travel I felt Shahid-Kareena were perfect to depict the situations. They are very steady and the bond looks evolved. They are well adjusted to each other. You can say mine is probably the first romantic film with Shahid and Kareena together.

1. How did you enter in the film industry?

I hail from Jamshedpur and while in college in Delhi I became quite involved in theatre. I came to Mumbai and directed quite a few television shows before bagging the offer for my debut film!

1. Jab We Met has been shot in many different places in India…how was the experience?

I love traveling and Jab We Met really helped me fulfill my desire to go to places. We visited places all over India such as Nabha, Punjab, Manali, Rajasthan, Mandava, Rohtang Pass, Khandala, Bhatinda and so many others! From sub-zero temperature places like Rohtang Pass to extremely hot places like Rajasthan each place was a fabulous experience! The film is an adventure covering some of the most beautiful places in India.

1. A note on the music of the film

Oh I think Pritam has done a fantastic job with the music of the film. It's very fresh and songs like Mauja Mauja, Yeh Ishq Hai are topping the charts as well. People really like the album all over India and abroad. It's very important for the music to co-relate and enhance the film's situations and I think Pritam has done that.

1. How was it working with Shahid and Kareena?

As actors they are two completely different people. I never used the same style of explanation for both of them. Shahid likes detailed explanation with all information before itself. Kareena is impulsively and she doesn't need an extra word at all. It was fabulous to see both working together and unlike reports neither Kareena nor Shahid have any hang-ups at all. In fact Kareena threw no tantrums nothing and was very chilled out.

1. Any memorable experiences while shooting for the film?

We traveled to so many places in India, exotic far off places that each place had its own memories attached! We shot with Saroj Khan with around 150 dancers from Tibet and Himachal Pradesh, almost got bitten by fierce dogs in Punjab, I stayed at a scary haveli in Rajasthan for 20 days…all fabulous memories.

1. Future Projects

Well, none right now but lets see if any interesting story comes up who knows!