"Love Aaj Kal is a cleaner film than JWM" - Imtiaz Ali
He may be just two films old and his third film is about to release yet there is no denying the fact that Imtiaz Ali is a director who any actor in Bollywood would give his whole and soul to work with. His first film Socha Na Tha has its own loyal fan following while his next Jab We Met is a cult film of this generation that catapulted Shahid and Kareena to super-stardom. Now Imtiaz is all set to present his third film Love Aaj Kal which as the title suggests talks about Love Aaj (today) and Kal (yesterday). In this exclusive interview with us, Imtiaz Ali gets candid on his take on love, the loveliest heroines in Bollywood and even confesses the craziest thing that he has done in love.
Imtiaz...in
each
of
your
films
the
journey
undertaken
by
the
protagonists
plays
a
very
important
part.
How
has
been
your
journey
from
Socha
Na
Tha
to
Love
Aaj
Kal?
There
have
been
a
lot
of
ups
and
downs,
lot
of
starts
and
stops.
Between
Socha
Na
Tha
and
Jab
We
Met,
I
tried
to
start
4
-5
different
films
but
never
really
succeeded.
After
Jab
We
Met
nothing
much
changed
in
my
life
though
the
movie
was
a
huge
success.
Soon
after
I
started
working
on
Love
Aaj
Kal.
But
I
must
say,
throughout
this
journey
I
have
met
a
lot
of
interesting
people
and
have
got
a
lot
of
good
wishes
and
blessings
from
people
which
feels
good.
Love
Aaj
Kal
takes
a
look
at
the
how
'Love'
has
evolved
over
the
years.
Could
you
tell
us
a
little
bit
more
about
the
film?
The
film
essentially
is
about
two
sets
of
people.
One
set
of
people
believe
that
what
used
to
happen
in
the
olden
times
in
love
relationships
is
very
silly
while
the
other
set
of
people
(the
older
generation)
feels
its
not
possible
to
deal
with
things
so
practically
especially
when
it
concerns
matter
of
the
heart.
Both
plots
(Veer
Singh's
romance
with
Harleen
many
years
back
and
Jai
and
Meera's
relationship
in
the
present)
simultaneously
reveal
in
the
movie.
Finally
both
stories
end
up
believing
in
the
same
message
that
in
any
era,
the
routine
of
love
may
be
different
but
the
experience
is
the
same
How
did
the
seed
of
Love
Aaj
Kal
germinate?
On
a
lot
of
occasions
I
have
heard
this
comparative
analysis
of
how
things
were
in
a
relationship
in
the
past
and
how
they
have
changed
today.
Many
often
we
hear,
Humare
Zamane
Mein
Aisa
Hota
Tha
Lekin
Aaj
Kal
Aisa
Hota
Hai.
The
beauty
is
each
generation
of
people
believes
that
what
they
are
saying
is
right
and
what
the
other
generation
is
saying
is
bullshit.
This
on-going
debate
kind
of
triggered
the
idea
of
Love
Aaj
Kal
After
the
huge
success
of
Jab
We
Met,
weren't
you
tempted
to
repeat
the
jodi
of
Shahid
and
Kareena
for
this
flick?
No...
because
as
a
director
I
am
the
first
audience
of
the
story
and
hence
need
to
give
what
is
best
for
the
story
rather
than
just
cast
for
marketing
value.
You
are
the
first
director
to
have
worked
with
Saif
the
actor
and
Saif
the
producer.
How
has
been
the
experience?
As
a
producer
Saif
is
completely
non-existent.
He
just
provided
Vision
as
well
as
Vijan
(Dinesh
Vijan)
to
the
film
(laughs).As
an
actor
he
is
extremely
exciting
to
work
with.
Jab
We
Met
has
been
a
turning
point
in
Kareena's
career.
Do
you
think
Love
Aaj
Kal
would
do
that
for
Deepika?
I
hope
so
(smiles)
Among
other
things,
the
USP
of
the
film
is
also
the
coming
together
of
Rishi
Kapoor
and
Neetu
Singh
on
the
big
screen
after
a
hiatus.
How
did
that
happen?
Rishi
Kapoor
is
playing
a
full-fledged
role
in
the
movie.
His
is
a
very
important
part.
However
Neetuji's
role
is
more
of
a
cameo.
So
let's
not
expect
it
to
be
a
comeback
kind
of
a
role.
She
has
been
very
sweet
to
grace
the
film
with
her
presence
and
I
being
a
huge
fan
of
hers
since
childhood,
for
me
it
was
a
dream
come
true
moment
for
directing
her.
It
was
wonderful
to
see
her
coming
back
on
the
studio
floor
after
nearly
30
years.
She
was
a
bit
nervous
in
the
first
shot
but
I
told
her,
"I
am
sure
you
will
give
a
great
shot"
Apart
from
Deepika,
there's
yet
another
PYT
(Pretty
Young
Thing)
who
is
seen
in
the
promos.
Could
you
tell
us
who
she
is
and
why
she
is
being
kept
under
wraps?
Well...her
name
is
Harleen
in
the
film
and
that's
all
we
would
like
to
reveal
at
this
stage.
We
would
like
to
keep
something
for
the
audience
to
watch
the
film
and
check
out
for
themselves.
The
film
has
been
shot
at
a
wide
variety
of
locations
be
it
Delhi
or
San
Francisco,
London
or
Kolkata.
How
did
you
zero
in
on
these
cities?
We
did
extensive
travelling
and
recce
to
finalize
the
locations.
We
chose
London
because
it's
like
any
Indian
city.
There
are
a
lot
of
Indians
in
London.
There
is
a
connection
of
bridges
in
this
film
and
so
we
chose
San
Francisco
and
Kolkata
which
have
two
of
the
most
popular
bridges
in
the
world-
the
Golden
Gate
Bridge
and
the
Howrah
Bridge.
In
fact,
San
Francisco
and
Kolkata
also
have
the
tram
in
common.
As
for
Delhi,
in
Delhi
there
have
been
things
which
have
existed
in
the
past
and
the
present
e.g.
Qutub
Minar
So
in
a
way
it
forms
the
connecting
place
between
the
present
and
the
past
in
the
movie.
With
Saif
around
the
Fun
Quotient
can
never
be
down...
Any
memorable
incidents
on
the
sets?
Oh...lots
of
them.
Saif
would
often
make
a
commentary
to
the
making
camera
and
go
to
each
person
and
say
things
that
would
make
us
all
crack
up.
Another
funny
instance
was
when
a
German
lady
was
acting
a
bit
rude
while
we
were
shooting
in
important
scene
with
Saif
and
Deepika
at
the
airport.
Just
the
way
Saif
handled
her
and
spoke
to
her,
the
whole
unit
was
in
splits.
In
fact
after
the
episode
I
told
him,
"If
she
understands
the
sarcasm
in
your
tone
she
will
come
back
with
a
gun
and
shoot
you"
The
promos
of
the
film
show
quite
a
few
kissing
scenes
between
Saif
and
Deepika.
Do
you
think
it
will
keep
the
family
audience
at
bay?
The
kisses
in
the
film
are
just
pecks.
I
am
very
aware
of
the
family
audience
and
can
safely
say
that
this
is
a
cleaner
film
than
Jab
We
Met.
In
Jab
We
Met
there
was
a
smooching
scene
but
here
you
just
have
a
cute
kiss
here
and
there.
The
music
of
Jab
We
Met
is
still
playing
on
the
airwaves.
Following
up
on
such
a
successful
music
score
what
brief
did
you
give
to
Pritam?
No
brief
in
general.
The
brief
is
always
the
script
of
the
film.
How
satisfied
are
you
with
his
compositions
this
time
around
and
which
is
your
favorite
track
in
the
film?
Yes
I
am
extremely
satisfied.
I
must
say
Pritam
and
Irshad
both
have
done
really
well.
My
favorite
track
would
be
'Dooriyan'
sung
by
Mohit
Chauhan
Whose
idea
was
it
to
incorporate
the
famous
'Nagin'
tune
in
the
'Twist'
song?
It
was
a
joint
idea...
We
were
looking
at
a
different
song
at
first
as
a
backdrop
to
'Twist'.
I
wanted
something
instrumental
and
which
had
a
high
recall.
That's
when
Pritam
suggested
the
'Nagin'
tune.
Since
you
are
known
for
your
love
stories,
let
me
ask
you
what's
the
craziest
thing
you've
done
in
love?
Travelled
a
1000
miles
to
see
somebody's
face
and
then
travelled
all
the
way
back
Who
according
to
you
are
the
3
'Love'liest
heroines
in
Bollywood?
Kareena,
Deepika
and
Katrina
On
a
closing
note
in
what
way
has
Love
changed
from
Kal
to
Aaj?
1.
Longing
happens
later
now...Intimacy
happens
first
2.
People
are
much
more
honest
in
relationships
now...People
used
to
get
honest
much
later
then
3.
People
were
more
obsessed
with
Sex
then
than
they
are
now.
Finally
audiences
have
huge
expectations
from
the
film.
What
do
you
think
they
should
look
out
for?
They
should
just
go
with
a
clean
slate
and
watch
it
for
the
experience
and
decide
for
themselves
if
it
was
worth
it