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Imtiaz Ali opens up about Jab Harry Met Sejal emphasizing on how he processed the failure of SRK starrer
Imtiaz Ali is one of the finest filmmakers of the Bollywood industry. The man has contributed in serving some of the most critically acclaimed cinematic masterpieces in the Hindi film industry, from superhit rom-com Jab We Met to romantic drama Tamasha, he has aced his creative caliber and paved his own way into the catalog as one of the most prolific directors of his time. When we see through his list of movies ever created, we also come across 'Jab Harry Met Sejal', a 2017 rom-com that neither served well critically nor commercially. Such a huge failure in Imtiaz's laddering career truly surprises everyone even today. But the director had his own ways of making it. Read below to know why.
Recently during a renowned podcast episode, Jab We Met maker, Imtiaz Ali disclosed about making the 2017 rom-com, Jab Harry Met Sejal', which is also one of the biggest flops of Shah Rukh Khan's riveting filmography. Recounting the film on it's third anniversary when he had to acknowledge it, he said, "I was reminded, 'Even though it didn’t do well, it's still your film,' he recalled. So, I felt a lot of pain. It's like an unfortunate child." Expressing his feelings on the movie he further said, "I felt a strong sense of ownership over the film as if saying, I'm not ashamed of you, you're mine, just like any other film of mine. In that moment, I felt a strange melancholy, a strange pain; which I didn't feel back then."
Proceeding further with his statement, he recalled those failure days of his career when people's expressions said it all. He even recollected it was when he suffered from dengue and was bedridden for a whole month. Calling the days 'hard to process' he emphasized the idea of letting go, "You have to let it go... I consider myself fortunate for all my failures. Even though Jab Harry Met Sejal didn't work, I still felt there was something positive happening. I'm not disturbed by it. You shouldn't be too concerned with success or failure."
Meanwhile, the Tamasha director has recently served with a Netflix biopic drama, Amar Singh Chamkila that premiered on Netflix on April 12, 2024. As the name suggests, the film revolves around the life of the legendary singer Chamkila and how he rose to become a global sensation before being gunned down at the age of 27 in 1988. Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the film also stars Apinderdeep Singh, Rahul Mittra, Nisha Bano, Anjum Batra, Vipin Katyal, and Udaybir Sandhumore in some significant roles.
- PTC PUNJABI
