Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali turned out in his trademark white-shirt-denim combination and his hair in a sort of organised disarray. Imtiaz is the quintessential new-age director– articulate and savvy from the story-is-king school of thought. Ali is a man of many parts, in that he has done a stint in advertising and television before he plunged into a filmmaking career. His talent as a director is evident in his first movie Socha Na Tha, which was reaffirmed with the success of Jab We Met. Now ready with his third— Love Aaj Kal starring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, Ali, one of the most sought-after directors in Bollywood, gets talking about his new love story and more...

Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone-that’s a new and unusual combination — why did you choose them? And why the name Love Aaj Kal?
It is very difficult to predict who will work together, but Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone were individually very suitable for their roles. To me, Deepika looks like Meera and Saif like Jai, so the internal vibrations match. I don’t know Deepika very well, but she comes across as a perceptive person who reads a little more than what is made obvious to her but in a very warm way–there is a silent grace about her. Saif is brilliant, but noisy, sophisticated and multi-layered with bouts of energy.

As for the name, I liked Aaj Kal, but there is so much love that came our way everywhere we shot that it also came into the title as well.

Two notable love stories Socha Na Tha and Jab We Met, so much so that articles about you are titled Love guru–is Love Aaj Kal a premeditated attempt at completing the trilogy? And predictably, there are huge expectations from this one – are you a bundle of nerves?
I don’t have a policy. I am not a romantic movie buff. It’s just that these two stories happen to be based on relationships. I tend to get to a point where I feel that this is the story I like best and that’s it. Also, love stories can no longer be boy-meet-girl stories. They have to go beyond that–it could be the point of view of a father whose daughter is not in love with anybody.

As for expectations, I don’t have any, so I am, in that sense, really cool. This (movie) is not Jab We Met…

You write the stories for your films—how important is it for a director to be also writing his movies?
Pretty important. At any rate the director should have creative control. I don’t know how they do it in Hollywood where a different person writes the story and the writer and director are probably the last to be introduced. Writers, like actors, need to be directed.

Danny Boyle in a recent interview had said that directors in India get a lot of attention–is it true?
That’s only fair because Indian directors bear the onus of the success and failure of a film and their involvement is greater–they are looking into casting, music, story and pretty much all creative aspects.

How did the third relationship story come about and how much of your characters or circumstances are borrowed from life around you?
Remnants of what you have seen and done in your life come together, quite autonomously… chunks collide together and finally assume a form and it’s the same this time around. For instance, I have always had a recurring dream that I am going to miss my train but magically never miss it (it featured in Jab We Met).

A character may be many people rolled into one. Geet (in Jab We Met) has reflections of this girl in one of the Delhi University buses…Main apni favourite hoon–my nine-year-old daughter says that she likes everything about herself. Sometimes stories are born out of wondering what the life of a person who you perhaps met in a train would be like-her family, relationships everything… Obviously, the chances of it all coming together the way it does in the movies are remote, but that can be a starting point.

Love Aaj Kal, from what one has heard is about different approach that different generations take to love-characters representing the older generation worked at their relationship while the younger generation moves on: true or false?
Yes. That’s what it is about.

And what of your abiding love affair with the Great Indian Railways? Does it feature in Love Aaj Kal?
Yes, there’s a fleeting sequence. It is the greatest Indian experience and the most exhilarating that one can have. You get to see different costumes, sample different types of cuisine and be a part of so many lives for a few hours. I have travelled extensively by train, slept in the passage outside the loo and sometimes inside (laughs) but it’s still a wonderful experience.

There are supposed to be movies with Akshay Kumar and Sonam Kapoor and one with Hrithik Roshan in the pipeline…
There are no plans right now.

Evidently you are among the most sought-after directors, so what has changed since you started out?
A lot more people call me now and even let me have my way because they feel I know it all which may not necessarily be true. I think it’s better to be questioned.

Farhan Akhtar’s very successful foray into acting has enthused directors about turning actors-will we see you go that way?
No. I have had my fill of acting with theatre.

Is the denim and white shirt combo complete with a mop of curls a fashion statement? Are you a closet fashion fiend?
Nothing of the kind-to me it’s all about comfort. In my movies it’s more about personal style- eg, wearing salwar with a t-shirt was commonplace among girls from Jamshedpur (where he hails from) while travelling…As for the hair-there was no time for a haircut while shooting for Jab We Met and it was looking rather untidy. So much so that crew members began to offer me money in order to tempt me into getting one and I thought I would do it when the stakes were high enough! And then it just outgrew that phase and I have kept it that way.

Movies you are looking forward to.
Kites certainly-Hrithik Roshan’s in a great space and Anurag Basu is a very exciting director. Kaminey because Vishal Bhardwaj always does something interesting and I am eager to see Shahid Kapur after Jab We Met and Three Idiots because of Rajkumar Hirani.

The big boom in the industry with the advent of corporates and the subsequent shakeout-did the industry in general and you in particular profit from it?
Money is an unbiased commodity to gauge things by and sure people have signed lucrative deals when the going was good. Unfortunately, I missed the bus – I am still living in a rented apartment. The thing with those multi-crore deals is that companies, if not satisfied with what they have in return, are going to come after you as they have to run a business.