Imtiaz Ali On the Couch With Koel

"I'd rather say what I believe is the truth, so I at least know, in all this noise, what I believe." This is a strange thing to say. Even stranger when 'noise' in this context refers to accolades and laurels and the person saying it is the hottest young director on the Bollywood block. The fact that Imtiaz Ali doesn't like to blow his own trumpet is laudable of course, but his blatant refusal to trust the compliments being showered on him for the success of his latest film, in an industry that lives for praise and thrives on flattering BS, is astounding.

Tune into Headlines Today on Saturday,

September 19, at 7 pm and Sunday, September 20, at 1 pm to watch the show

The thing that strikes you about Imtiaz, apart of course from his obvious Adonis like looks, his long curly locks, his shy smile, his twinkling inquisitive eyes... aah! Almost forgot he's married, to the same girl he's been in love with since 8th grade, I might add. So romantic, don't you agree? You know, leading TV actresses have professed their love for him in letters written in blood. He hasn't even noticed the heartaches he's causing. Sorry I digress. Back to the thing that strikes you about Imtiaz- he is real and continues to be real, in spite of all of the above and delivering two of the most refreshing blockbuster hits.

He is a normal guy with above average intuition, a terrific wit, a great capacity for empathy, knows his own genius and yet has his feet firmly planted on the ground. He happily points out the mistakes he's trying to cover up in all three of his films and readily talks to you about his own shortcomings. A non-existent trait in an industry obsessed with feeding on its own hype. I felt I was talking to a man still so connected with the real world even though he lives and works in the world of carefully crafted fantasy.

I openly admitted to preferring Jab We Met to Love Aaj Kal, which I found was too much like a documentary. He was OK with that and didn't feel the need to defend himself or his film in an attempt to convince me that I had got it wrong. That instantly made me wish that I had liked his latest film more. We talked about everything from his writing process, to wooing his wife, to his love for the great Indian railways and all things Punjabi, to his hate for crowds, to him standing stark naked outside the girls hostel of Miranda House.

Now that he is a successful Hindi film director, I asked if he was getting money for nothing and chicks for free. He lamented and demanded to know why the promised casting couch is still eluding him. I pointed out that he was sitting on a big fat furry red couch and he thanked me for giving him the due respect of a director by putting him on a couch, finally. Ah well sir, happy to oblige.

Tune in to Headlines Today this Saturday, September 19, at 7 pm and Sunday, September 20, at 1 pm and see how this creator of three of the most contemporary romances on cinema is actually a cynic when it comes to love.

Source: http://www.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=The-Romantic-Cynic.html&Itemid=&main_category=On%20the%20Couch%20with%20Koel&contentid=27619