Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali recently discussed a significant moment from his life during an interview. He shared that the experience of failing the ninth grade and having to repeat it was a turning point for him. Imtiaz talked about feeling humiliation and shame during that time, which pushed him towards becoming more independent. He humorously mentioned that his love for movies might have been a contributing factor to his academic struggles, as he was staying with relatives who owned cinemas at the time. Being away from his parents due to a transfer also played a role in the situation.
Speaking with Ranveer Allahbadia, Imtiaz Ali stated, “I think when I failed in ninth standard, and when I had to repeat that class… zillat, sharam (humiliation, shame). That forced me to think, and it forced me get independent.
I was staying at my relatives house, who owned cinema halls in Jamshedpur. Two theatres were very close to the house, so I was just watching films those days. Parents were not there in those days, because transfers happen during the academic year, and I was already studying here so it might be because of this.”
Imtiaz reflected on his academic journey by sharing that while he excelled in the early years, receiving a double promotion from kindergarten to Class 2, he described himself as a mediocre student during the intermediate years, “I was very good in the beginning. I got a double promotion also, when I was promoted from KG to Class 2. Then I was mediocre, and then I failed in Class 9 and after that, I became a good student,” he recalled.
The pivotal moment of failing in Class 9 marked a shift for him, leading him to become a more dedicated and diligent student. Despite the setback, he went on to pursue higher education at Delhi University’s Hindu College before furthering his studies in Mumbai at St. Xavier’s College.
Imtiaz Ali also opened up about the box office failure of Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma starrer ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’. The director said that he tried to “experiment” with the 2017 romance comedy, but it failed terribly.
Despite hit pairing of SRK and Anushka, Jab Harry Met Sejal turned out to be a massive failure at the box office, having a lifetime gross of reported Rs 60 crore. He shared in the same interview, “So what if it didn’t do well, it is still your film,’ I was told. Toh mujhe bohot dard hua. It is an unfortunate child. I felt a sense of ownership over the film, I felt like telling it, ‘I am not embarrassed of you brother, you are mine, as much as any other film of mine.’ So, in that moment, I felt a strange melancholy, ek ajeeb sa dard mehsoos hua, that oh this was an unsuccessful film, which I didn’t feel it in this manner back then. But I could feel at this point. Back then, calculations were happening, I was reading people’s faces, I could sense disappointment. I had dengue, so I was also bed ridden for a month.”
Imtiaz Ali said he “processed the pain over a period of time” and added that at some point it’s important to “let it go”. “I feel lucky about all my failures. Now Jab Harry Met Sejal didn’t work, still I felt there was something good happening. I am not perturbed by it. You shouldn’t be so bothered with success or failure,” he added.
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