New Delhi:
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali recently spoke about his college days in Delhi when he was abducted after a dispute over a political poster.
Speaking to NDTV India’s Sikta Deo during promotions for his upcoming romantic drama Main Vaapas Aaunga, Imtiaz Ali said the incident ultimately turned out to be “beautiful”.
“When you live in Delhi, you become aggressive. I used to be very aggressive during my college days in Delhi. But it was not my fault at that time,” he told NDTV.
He continued, “Whatever happened to me (the kidnapping), it turned out to be a beautiful incident. I made a lot of friends because of that incident which could have been horrific. As I’m growing older, I feel I’m saying things because of my stubbornness.”
“Or because I’m trying to impress myself with how capable I am… Everyone should listen to me, I’m so cool. But there are a few things that are very important to me, so it’s important to express them. The praise I receive from people – it’s not that important,” the filmmaker concluded.
The College Incident
Imtiaz Ali went down memory lane as he revisited his college days in 1993 at Hindu College. He spoke about the rivalry between NSUI and ABVP supporters on campus, and how the politics that thus erupted was because of it.
Recalling the chain of events on Unfiltered by Samdish, he said, “At that time, there was the usual NSUI versus ABVP rivalry in universities. Someone had put up a poster on the wall of my hostel. I told them not to put it on the front face of the hostel and instead use the side walls. They deliberately pasted it on the front wall. In front of them, I removed it and put it up on the side. They left. A few days later, around 2 am, one of my hostel mates came and told me to run because those people were coming. They arrived and said, ‘Come with us.’ I asked where, but they had come in a cycle rickshaw to take me away.”
Imtiaz Ali then explained how he was forced into a cycle rickshaw and taken to a secluded government quarter to be questioned by a gang leader of a political association.
The filmmaker said his intention had only been to shift the poster from the hostel’s front wall because it spoiled the look of the building. He had not removed it. When the gang leader checked and was told that Imtiaz Ali had only shifted the poster and not removed it, he was let go.
The leader also slapped his associate twice for the miscommunication caused.
About Main Vaapas Aaunga
Imtiaz Ali shared the above story as an anecdote from his college days while promoting his upcoming film Main Vaapas Aaunga.
Punjab, the pain of Partition, a continuous journey between past and present, some familiar faces, soul-searching music, and a love story transcending time and geographical barriers – Imtiaz Ali weaves every element to tell a story of lost time, home, and love.
The movie marks the second collaboration between Ali and Diljit Dosanjh after their 2024 Netflix film Amar Singh Chamkila. It also reunites the director with composer A. R. Rahman and lyricist Irshad Kamil, who have delivered melodious soundtracks for films such as Amar Singh Chamkila, Rockstar, Tamasha, and Highway.
The film releases in theatres on June 12, 2026.
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