He may be riding high on the success of his latest outing, Amar Singh Chamkila, now, but filmmaker Imtiaz Ali has had his fair share of failures too, with Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017) and Love Aaj Kal (2020).

“When I made them, I just wanted to make a movie, but they didn’t work. All my films have had some problems in execution; [I feel] they could have been better. However, I hope people see some merit in these two films also, as there are some good things that probably did not come through [at once],” he reflects. 

But the audience has loved films such as Rockstar (2011) and Tamasha (2015), also dubbed as some of his intellectual projects. Will there be more such movies? “I don’t want my films to come across as intellectual,” says Ali, adding, “If they do, they might seem restrictive, and I don’t want them to belong to an exclusive crowd. I would love to make a masala film, but I just don’t know how to make it as I can’t help but be myself.”

Meanwhile, Ali is back in the spotlight after four years as the Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra-starrer resonates with the masses. Talking about the movie, the filmmaker, who never wanted to make a biopic, felt “it would be a magnificent story to tell at a time when people are being so judgmental”.

As Chamkila brings back the art of live singing in films, he hopes to go back to the roots. “The magic of cinema and the illogical madness of it should always remain. But I’m not looking forward to making any more biopics,” he ends.