Imtiaz Ali on writing 'Jab We Met' not as a love story: 'Two people who meet, one is full of life and one wants to kill himself'

Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali has opened up about the creative thought process behind his most loved films and revealed that he never intentionally wrote them as conventional love stories. Known for directing films like 'Socha Na Tha', 'Love Aaj Kal' and 'Rockstar', Imtiaz explained that romance naturally evolved through the emotional journeys of his characters. 'Jab We Met' started with two opposite people During an interview with News18, Imtiaz Ali revealed that the core idea behind 'Jab We Met' was never planned as a romantic film. He said, “If you say that my films are love stories, I would take it as a compliment. But I didn’t start writing any of my films as a love story, including 'Jab We Met'.” The filmmaker explained that the story originally began with two emotionally opposite individuals meeting unexpectedly during a train journey. “So, how did it begin? It started with these two people who meet – one is full of life and one wants to kill himself. And they meet on a train because where else can two such opposite people meet! If they’re on a train, she has to be going somewhere. That’s how I started writing 'Jab We Met'.' And I, obviously, had this fascination of a girl on a train,” he remarked. Imtiaz Ali says romance became a by-product Imtiaz further shared that he viewed the story as an emotional transformation between two personalities rather than a typical romance. “That, for me, is a very romantic idea. I didn’t think the film was going to be a love story. It was about two people meeting and affecting each other and somehow becoming each other, becoming the opposites of who they were,” Imtiaz added. According to the filmmaker, emotional connection and personal growth often become stronger themes than romance in his films. 'Main Vaapas Aaunga' director on legendary love stories Speaking about classic romance stories from literature and cinema, Imtiaz Ali suggested that many legendary tales may not have originally been written purely as love stories. “I think a lot of love stories qualify to be one where there’s fulfilment in the end. But by that measure, 'Laila Majnu', 'Heer Ranjha' and 'Romeo & Juliet' aren’t love stories. I think that when many of these stories were being written, the writers weren’t thinking that they’re making a love story,” the filmmaker said. He also referred to William Shakespeare while discussing emotional conflict and storytelling. “Maybe Shakespeare was thinking that he was writing a story about opposites attracting, about two warring families and how dramatic it would be if their children liked each other,” he continued. The director also dismissed the idea that emotional storytelling has lost relevance in modern cinema dominated by action spectacles. “I don’t think so. Maybe I choose to watch films that have some bit of emotional content in them. 'Hamnet', for instance, is a wonderful film and it has so much love and heart in it! Love need not exist in the most typical fashion of a boy and a girl wanting to get married. There’s so much more that love does in life. I think every good film is a love story. 'Saving Private Ryan' is also a love story and so is 'Interstellar',” Imtiaz shares. Imtiaz Ali also stated that themes of longing, love and emotional attachment naturally continue appearing in his work. “I’m always trying to do something I haven’t done before. But there’s still an accent that comes through in the way that I’m telling a story. I can only say that I’m not deliberately doing it at all,” he said. On the professional front, the filmmaker is currently preparing for the release of 'Main Vaapas Aaunga', a Partition-era romantic drama scheduled to release in theatres on June 12, 2026.