In an interview, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali revealed that he remains unfazed by success or failures, prioritising the exploration of new storytelling avenues. He acknowledges that not all risks will pay off, citing his 2017 romantic drama "Jab Harry Met Sejal," starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma, as an example. The film faced significant criticism and commercial disappointment.
"Jab Harry Met Sejal" marked a significant setback for Ali after a string of acclaimed movies, from his debut "Socha Na Tha" to "Jab We Met," "Love Aaj Kal," "Rockstar," and "Tamasha."
Reflecting on "Jab Harry Met Sejal" in an interview, Imtiaz Ali shared his perspective on the film, which stands as one of the biggest flops in Shah Rukh Khan’s career. He recounted an incident on the third anniversary of the film when someone suggested he post about it.
"I was told, 'So what if it didn't do well, it's still your film.' So, I felt a lot of pain. It's an unfortunate child. I felt a strong sense of ownership over the film, as if I wanted to say to it, 'I'm not ashamed of you, you're mine, just like any other film of mine.' So, in that moment, I felt a strange melancholy, a peculiar ache, realizing that oh, this was an unsuccessful film, which I didn't feel in this way back then.
"But I could feel it 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 bedridden for a month," he reminisced.
