Imtiaz Ali is an Indian director, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for directing movies such as Socha Na Tha (2005), Jab We Met (2007), Love Aaj Kal (2009), Rockstar (2011), and Tamasha (2015).
Born Name
Imtiaz Ali
Nick Name
Imtiaz
Imtiaz Ali at the Horasis Global India Business Meeting in June 2012 (Richter Frank-Jurgen / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Sun Sign
Gemini
Born Place
Jamshedpur, Bihar (Jharkhand), India
Residence
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality
Education
Imtiaz attended St. Michael’s High School in the Digha neighborhood of Patna, Bihar, India. He then enrolled in D.B.M.S. English School in Jamshedpur, Bihar (Jharkhand), India.
Imtiaz attended Hindu College, University of Delhi in New Delhi, India, where he took part in college theater and founded Ibtida, a dramatic society within the college. After moving to Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, he completed a diploma course in marketing and advertising at the Xavier Institute of Communication.
Occupation
Director, Actor, Producer, Writer
Family
Father – Mansoor Ali (Contractor, Worked in Irrigation)
Siblings – Arif Ali (Brother) (Director, Writer), Sajid Ali (Brother)
Others – Khalid Ahmed (Maternal Uncle) (Director, Actor, Producer, Professor, Musician, Engineer), Noor (Niece)
Manager
Imtiaz Ali is represented by Window Seat Films (Company) in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Build
Slim
Height
5 ft 10 in or 178 cm
Weight
70 kg or 154.5 lbs
Imtiaz Ali in an Instagram post as seen in January 2020 (Imtiaz Ali / Instagram)
Girlfriend / Spouse
Imtiaz Ali has dated –
Sarah Todd (2018) – Rumor
Preety Ali (2002-2012) – He got married to Preety Ali in 2002, but they divorced in 2012. They have a daughter named Ida Ali, who enrolled in a film school in 2019. He moved back in with Preety during the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020.
Race / Ethnicity
Asian (Indian)
Hair Color
Black
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Imtiaz Ali at the opening of Fluke store in June 2012 (Bollywood Hungama / www.bollywoodhungama.com / CC BY-3.0)
Imtiaz Ali at Deepika’s Cocktail success bash in July 2012 (Bollywood Hungama / www.bollywoodhungama.com / CC BY-3.0)
Imtiaz Ali Facts
He admitted to being socially awkward and an underachiever growing up. However, he was perceived as intelligent and put-together because he lied to his friends about being part of sports teams and being “a bigger person than what he was”.
He was born in a Muslim family that lived in Darbhanga in Bihar, India.
In class IX, he came to the Karim Mansion his relatives owned in Jamshedpur. It had cinema halls named Jamshedpur Talkies, Karim Talkies, and Star Talkies. Even though he wasn’t allowed to watch movies, he still did, which ignited his passion for film.
To break into the film industry, he started working toward becoming a copywriter.
Imtiaz unwillingly ran into trouble for using a song titled Sadda haq aithe rakh for his movie Rockstar (2011). The song was used during a leftist revolution in Punjab in the past.
He credits Sunny Deol for allowing him to pursue a career as a director. Sunny was looking for a script to launch the actor Abhay Deol, and Imtiaz had already written a script for Socha Na Tha. To his surprise, Sunny was very intrigued by the script, but it took 3 years before it was released in 2005.
He founded his film production company, Window Seat Films, in partnership with Reliance Entertainment as a 50:50 joint venture. Their 1st movie release was Highway (2014) starring Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda.
Despite being recognized, Imtiaz still flies economy class. He sees himself as a middle-class person who wasn’t born into luxury, no matter how rich he gets.
According to him, actor, philanthropist, and producer, Dilip Kumar was the only Bollywood actor who, by looking at her, could make a girl shiver.
Imtiaz considers himself a travel junkie.
He got the idea for a remake of Love Aaj Kal (2009) after his daughter Ida asked him about the romantic days of his life. The idea stuck for years and he decided to keep the name and also title it Love Aaj Kal (2020).
He has visited Antarctica but still plans on coming back and taking a dip in the freezing water in the future.
Featured Image by Bollywood Hungama / www.bollywoodhungama.com / CC BY-3.0
