The BEST of Imtiaz Ali

Imtiaz Ali, a romantic at heart, has his own style of cinema.

Some of his films may have worked commercially, some may not have. But the director has become a force to reckon with.

On Imtiaz Ali's 50th birthday on June 16, Joginder Tuteja looks at his brand of films.

 

Socha Na Tha
Box office collection: Rs 3.50 crore

Imtiaz made his directorial debut with Socha Na Tha.

The film also marked Abhay Deol's screen debut; Ayesha Takia had worked in a couple of movies before.

Though the film found its audience later, it did not work commercially.

Still, one could see Imtiaz's signature charm in the romantic tale.

 

Jab We Met
Box office collection: Rs 31 crore

Imtiaz's crowning glory came with Jab We Met.

Though it took a slow start at the box office, word-of-mouth caught up well for the Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor starrer.

Pritam's music was chartbuster quality, and the romantic musical went on to be a cult classic.

 

Love Aaj Kal
Box office collection: Rs 67 crore

From this point on, things started getting bigger and better for Imtiaz as he went on to deliver a solid superhit with Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Rishi Kapoor in Love Aaj Kal.

It did more than double the business of Jab We Met and yet again, it was the combo of Pritam and Irshad Kamil that did the trick.

 

Rockstar
Box office collection: Rs 67.50 crore

Imtiaz took an ambitious career detour with Rockstar where he tried to marry art and commerce with Ranbir Kapoor.

This time around, the music was even bigger with A R Rahman stepping in.

One can't help but wonder if Rockstar may have done better had there been a different leading lady.

Highway
Box office collection: Rs 29 crore

After helming a couple of big scale films, Imtiaz took an intimate turn with Highway, designed on a smaller scale and among his most offbeat films.

Alia Bhatt showed off a different avatar after Student of the Year while Randeep Hooda proved that he had it in him to truly deliver when challenged.

 

Tamasha
Box office collection: Rs 68 crore

With Tamasha Imtiaz reunited with his Rockstar hero Ranbir Kapoor and his Love Aaj Kal heroine Deepika Padukone.

The narrative was even more offbeat when compared to Rockstar.

The music was superb and the film did okay business, though one expected more.

 

Jab Harry Met Sejal
Box office collection: Rs 64.50 crore

There was huge buzz in the trade and among audiences when it was announced that Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma would be coming together for Imtiaz's Jab Harry Met Sejal.

One waited with bated breath to watch this film which also boasted of good music by Pritam.

Unfortunately, this is Imtiaz's weakest film till date.

 

Love Aaj Kal
Box office collection: Rs 35 crore

Imtiaz decided to remake Love Aaj Kal,, his last success, and retain the title as well.

The core concept was the same, but a younger cast -- Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan -- came together.

Audiences didn't applaud loud enough though Pritam's music and Kartik's act worked well.