Ahead of his new film Main Vaapas Aaunga, we rank Imtiaz Ali’s romantic dramas from his under-rated debut in Socha Na Tha to his passion project, Amar Singh Chamkila.
Key Points
- Imtiaz Ali’s upcoming film Main Vaapas Aaunga, a tragic love story set against Partition, features Naseeruddin Shah, Diljit Dosanjh, Sharvari, Vedang Raina.
- His 2020 Love Aaj Kal reboot is considered his weakest, struggling with an unconvincing screenplay and a pheenka soundtrack, despite Randeep Hooda’s standout performance.
- Imtiaz Ali has directed Ranbir Kapoor in perhaps the actor’s best film till date: Rockstar.
In present-day Bollywood, very few filmmakers can genuinely claim brand recognition purely through their body of work. And when it comes to romance, heartbreak, longing and emotional anguish, it is difficult to look beyond the curly-haired Imtiaz Ali, whose cinema carries a poetic understanding of love in all its shades: Joy, hurt, hesitation, regret and companionship.
Yes, the icing on the cake is that there is almost always terrific music to accompany the emotional journey.
Imtiaz Ali is now ready with his new film, Main Vaapas Aaunga, a tragic love story set against the backdrop of Partition. Releasing in theatres on June 12, Main Vaapas Aaunga stars Naseeruddin Shah, Diljit Dosanjh, Sharvari and Vedang Raina.
As we wait to see what magic Imtiaz Ali has conjured up this time, Sreeju Sudhakaran dives into his filmography and ranks his movies from weakest to best.
9. Love Aaj Kal (2020)
This reboot, or spiritual sequel, arrives with a title as confusing as its own existence.
Why simply Love Aaj Kal again? Why not Love Aaj Kal 2? Or Love Aaj Kal Redux?
Darker in tone compared to its predecessor, the film perhaps deserves some appreciation for the bold emotional turns it attempts with its flawed male protagonists.
Unfortunately, the screenplay never quite convinces enough to make those characters interesting or compelling or even likeable.
Sara Ali Khan struggles to hold the emotional centre as the female lead, while Kartik Aaryan is decent in his dual role.
The only actor who truly manages to stand out is Randeep Hooda.
Also, for an Imtiaz Ali film, this perhaps has the most pheenka soundtrack in his entire filmography.
8. Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017)
A friend of mine once described Jab Harry Met Sejal as ‘a film that feels entirely like a second act with no proper first or third act’.
Honestly, that is not even a bad idea if executed convincingly. Unfortunately, that is where Imtiaz Ali’s road-trip romantic dramedy stumbles. Neither of the lead characters are strongly written.
We are never fully sure why Harry is carrying so much sadness within him or what exactly stops him from returning home. Nor do we understand why Sejal is so adamant about searching for her ring alone, and the less said about the twist surrounding its disappearance, the better.
Still, Shah Rukh Khan is terrific as the troubled loner, while the gorgeous European locales make the first half reasonably watchable.
Sadly, the unnecessary comedy portions in the second half and weak dramatic stakes leave the film forgettable by the end.
Pritam’s soundtrack remains a major plus, particularly gems like Hawayein, Safar and Ghar.
7. Love Aaj Kal (2009)
Imtiaz Ali turns a reflective gaze towards modern relationships by contrasting them against an old-school romance from another era.
Love Aaj Kal is colourful, energetic and immensely charming in parts.
Saif Ali Khan is in excellent form in his double role, his chemistry with Deepika Padukone sparkles, the late Rishi Kapoor is effortlessly lovable, and Pritam delivers some terrific chartbusters like Twist, Yeh Dooriyan and Chor Bazaari.
The film works best when exploring the fickleness and uncertainty of contemporary relationships though it admittedly adopts a glossier lens while looking at older romances (something the reboot later tries, and fails, to correct).
While the second half does become somewhat predictable in its handling of the love triangle, the film remains thoroughly entertaining.
6. Tamasha (2015)
Tamasha arrived at a stage when Imtiaz Ali had become deeply invested in exploring the psyche of his male protagonists, men going through emotional rites of passage involving love, identity and career, especially after Rockstar became both a critical and commercial triumph.
Though not as tightly written as Rockstar, which perhaps explains its box office underperformance, Tamasha has since developed an intense cult following among fans who consider it an underrated masterpiece (an opinion often reserved for many Ranbir Kapoor flops, except maybe Besharam).
Whether Tamasha works for you largely depends on how much you buy into Ved’s existential crisis and the ‘split personality’ nature of his emotional journey.
I was not entirely convinced, though many clearly were.
Still, there is much to admire here: Ranbir Kapoor’s conflicted performance, his never-failing electric chemistry with Deepika Padukone, A R Rahman’s soundtrack, and the stunning Corsica setting in the first half.
5. Socha Na Tha (2005)
Imtiaz Ali’s debut feature is a sweet romcom that failed commercially despite receiving decent reviews.
Had the director’s career not exploded later, this might have remained one of the most overlooked films of its decade. Perhaps that very underdog quality is what makes the film so endearing even today.
Starring Abhay Deol in his debut alongside Ayesha Takia, the movie takes a familiar premise of young lovers struggling against familial expectations and infuses it with quirky humour, relatable writing and an infectious warmth.
The climax remains one of the neatest conclusions I have seen in a Hindi romcom this century.
Like the film, even Sandesh Shandilya’s soundtrack remains criminally underrated, with songs like the title track and Yaara Rab deserving a permanent spot in every melody lover’s playlist.
4. Amar Singh Chamkila (2024)
In every frame of Amar Singh Chamkila, you can clearly sense Imtiaz Ali’s passion throughout this biopic of the slain Punjabi folk singer, and that passion is also reflected beautifully in Diljit Dosanjh’s career-best performance.
It was also refreshing to witness A R Rahman return to form in Bollywood after a somewhat lean phase in recent years, belting out an incredible soundtrack that does justice to Chamkila’s songs.
To the film’s credit, Amar Singh Chamkila does not entirely function as a hagiography, openly acknowledging controversial aspects like the singer’s polygamy.
At times, however, the film feels overlong, and while exploring the tragic fallout of Chamkila’s controversial songs, it avoids fully interrogating the inherent smuttiness of his lyrics, ending up celebrating them instead (like the Naram Kaalja song sequence).
Still, Amar Singh ChamkilA remains one of the strongest biopics to emerge from Hindi cinema in recent years, and by the time A R Rahman’s haunting Vida Karo plays, the film leaves you emotionally devastated.
3. Rockstar (2011)
Animal may be Ranbir Kapoor’s biggest blockbuster, but for many of his fans, Rockstar remains the defining Ranbir Kapoor film.
Through the story of Jordan, a troubled rockstar, Imtiaz Ali masterfully crafts a coming-of-age drama where heartbreak, rage and artistic frustration bleed directly into the protagonist’s music, turning his pain into rebellion against every system around him.
It helps immensely that Irshad Kamil’s lyrics and A R Rahman’s compositions work in perfect harmony to make audiences feel Jordan’s heartbreak.
And then there is Ranbir Kapoor himself, delivering a towering, career-defining performance that easily ranks among the finest Hindi film performances of this century.
The one weak link remains the central romance, which occasionally falters because of Nargis Fakhri’s less-than-stellar performance, despite the director loyally defending her casting in his interviews.
2. Highway (2014)
Even though Student Of The Year was a hit, it was Alia Bhatt’s second film, Highway, that truly announced her as an actor capable of surprising the hell out of audiences.
Highway remains Imtiaz Ali’s darkest film to date and, unlike his second Love Aaj Kal, he actually pulls off the troubled heaviness of what his leads are going through with an empathetic conviction.
What’s more, Highway also works as a far more affecting love story wrapped inside a road trip than what Ali later attempted with Jab Harry Met Sejal.
What begins as a kidnapping saga slowly turns into an therapeutic bonding journey between the abductor and the abductee, while heading towards a predictable yet heartbreaking destination.
Ali also extracts deeply engaging performances from Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt. Bhatt made her singing debut with the soothing Sooha Saha from A R Rahman’s earthy soundtrack.
1. Jab We Met (2007)
Imtiaz Ali’s finest film also remains his most joyous, most comforting and endlessly rewatchable work, the movie that finally propelled him into the spotlight his debut never quite managed.
Released in the aftermath of Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor’s highly publicised breakup (perhaps even benefiting from that), Jab We Met captures their chemistry at its absolute peak with both actors delivering quite fine turns.
The love story works smoothly in how both the lead characters empower each other: Kareena’s boisterous Geet becomes the healing balm for Shahid’s existentially shattered Aditya before he eventually returns the favour when life breaks her spirit.
Jab We Met excels equally in its humour (the lodge scenes) the emotional beats (the Aaoge Jab Tum song sequence) and the romantic portions (the cathartic hug Geet and Aditya share after she lashes out at her ex over the phone), with the moments landing beautifully.
Pritam’s soundtrack is an all-time winner too, even if several songs drew accusations of borrowing heavily from international tunes.
Nineteen years later, we are still waiting for that all-endearing, joyful entertainer as Jab We Met.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
