Imtiaz Ali made an impressive debut with Socha Na Tha (2005), starring Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia. But it was his second film Jab We Met (2007), which made him a force to reckon with. It starred Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan and became a huge success, which was not expected before its release. During an interaction with Mayank Shekhar of Mid-Day, Imtiaz spoke about this film and also how Shahid helped him in asking for a better price for his next film Love Aaj Kal (2009), starring Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan.
Imtiaz Ali confesses that Shahid Kapoor pushed him to ask for an astronomical price for Love Aaj Kal after Jab We Met became a hit: “Dinesh Vijan told me, ‘Aapne jo number bola, my head hit the roof!’”
Mayank Shekhar told Imtiaz Ali that Shahid Kapoor had advised the director to change the original film’s name (Geet) as it wouldn’t be a good idea to have the script with a heroine’s name as the title.
Imtiaz Ali smiled as he was reminded of this episode. He said, “I do remember. Shahid has guided me quite a lot. He also told me significantly that I’ll never forget. I always thank him for this. He said, ‘Hamari picture thodi chal gayi hai. When you make your next film, don’t fix the price right now because I feel Jab We Met is climbing’. I told him that I was thinking of charging X number of lakhs. He said, ‘Maybe you’ll get twice the amount or even Rs. 1 crore!’”
Imtiaz said that he laughed and thought he was joking but Shahid made it clear that he was serious. He told me, ‘Don’t fix it without calling me’. He thought ‘Yeh bewakoof hai. Isko log bewakoof bana denge’. Shahid, hence, was my self-appointed guide!”
And this gave a jolt to Love Aaj Kal’s producer Dinesh Vijan. Imtiaz revealed, “Dinoo suffered (laughs). He told me, ‘Aapne jo number bola, my head hit the roof!’. I told him, ‘Blame Shahid Kapoor’!”
Also Read:Imtiaz Ali explains what went wrong with Jab Harry Met Sejal: “Shah Rukh Khan is such a humongous star; I didn’t make provision for it; should have had a flashback and used him to the best of his strength”
More Pages: Love Aaj Kal Box Office Collection
, Love Aaj Kal Movie Review
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