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Cancelled plans to watch FIFA in Qatar to attend Kathakar: Imtiaz
Director Imtiaz Ali recounted his campus life in Hindu College, and shared interesting tidbits from his train rides between the Capital and his hometown, Jamshedpur.
From humming along to Tum Se Hi (Jab We Met; 2007)with singer Mohit Chauhan to recounting his campus life in Hindu College, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali’s session, Kisse, Kahani aur Mausiki at Kathakar International Storytellers festival was all about his Dilli days. In his conversation with Chauhan, Ali revealed he chose to come to the fest over his trip to watch FIFA in Qatar. “I was supposed to go to Qatar to watch my favourite team, Brazil’s match; but I decided to come here instead as this is important,” he said.
Sharing how tidbits from his train rides between the Capital and his hometown, Jamshedpur, inspired his filmmaking, Ali said, “When I’d travel by trains to go back home, the prettiest girl would always be in my coach. I found all the Delhi girls to be very talkative. They used to speak incessantly, with no audio split for you to pitch in. Many stories of my life are incomplete, which complete themselves later on in my films. This particular story about these girls completed itself in Jab We Met.”
No recollection of one’s Delhi University days is ever complete without a college election anecdote. And the same is true for Ali. He recalled, “Every party’s supporter used to come to our college hostel to put up posters, even though we had requested them to put them on the side as we were non-aligned. One time, a particular party’s supporters put up a poster in front. So, I took it off and put it to the side. A few days later, some boys came to our hostel with a rickshaw and cornered me. I realised mera apaharan ho rahaan tha, on a rickshaw! I was like a low-maintenance hostage, being taken to their boss in the middle of the night, to explain his actions.”
Ali, who made his directorial debut with the 2005 film Socha Na Tha, shared that his love for storytelling began during his school days. “I was very introverted as a child and got my share of glory when I could tell a story to someone. I couldn’t go out there and create a scene, but I could tell somebody something and that’s how they would know who I am,” he said, adding, “It is a natural instinct for people to want to tell stories. Every story is worth telling if it is backed by passion and desire.”
Talking about how apt Delhi is as a backdrop for the fest, Ali shared, “Since it’s a city that was destroyed and built, not all traces of the past have remained. But when you look at the monuments, there’s so much that the trees and stones must have seen. I come here less to encourage storytellers, and more to witness how other people tell their stories.”
Ali also teased Chauhan about his long stays in the hills, saying, “Babaji, aapka rishta kya hain pahadon se?” The singer explained, “Since I was brought up in hilly areas, I feel a sort of magnetism, which gives me a feeling of purity.”
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