Love Aaj Kal 2 was a ‘useless experiment’, says Imtiaz Ali: ‘Big disservice to the film’

Imtiaz Ali is ready to give away Jab We Met 2

In a chat with Zoom, Imtiaz pointed to Vedang and Sharvari and said, “Why doesn’t someone else make Jab We Met 2 with both of you?” When asked if he was okay with giving away the film, he said, “100 percent.” He was instantly asked if he would be willing to write that film, he said, “Would I write it? No. Someone can make it if they have a story.”

Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor in a still from Jab We Met.

Vedang, who was also present during this chat, said that when he heard his name for Jab We Met 2, that too, from Imtiaz, he “took it with a pinch of salt.” “It was a lot to take in. So I thought that somewhere, he must be feeling that if I have to name two actors, it can’t not be from the film that I have just made,” he said with a laugh. Shrvari added that it was a “great praise” and like Vedang, she is also a big fan of the film.

Imtiaz laughed along and shared, “I am very enthralled, and I am very excited to find out that my actors have such an opinion about me. Like the first chance they got, they doubted my intelligence and authenticity, and that he must have done it because of this. He must have done this to plug the film.”

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Love Aaj Kal 2 was a ‘useless experiment’

On the subject of sequels and franchises, Imtiaz also discussed Love Aaj Kal, which released in 2020 with lead stars Sara Ali Khan and Kartik Aaryan. Calling it a “useless experiment”, Imtiaz said that the film was not supposed to belong to a franchise and was previously titled Reverse, and associating it with an existing film was a disservice to the Sara-Kartik film.

Imtiaz shared, “Actually, it is not exciting to do a story for the reason that it’s a commercially viable thing. That’s a wrong way to start something. So I don’t want to do that. Unless there is something that is really pulling me to make a movie, a second part of a movie… Something just comes like that. But I’m not really keen to explore a part two just for the heck of it.”

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He then elaborated on Love Aaj Kal 2 and said, “In Love Aaj Kal 2, I did that because I already had the story and I was excited about it. It didn’t work is a different matter. Love Aaj Kal 2 also told me that this is a useless experiment because it’s not even a viable project, if you don’t want to make it. Love Aaj Kal 2 was a story in itself. I could have made a different story.”

Imtiaz said that calling the 2020 film Love Aaj Kal 2 was not in their initial plan. “There was a time when I was thinking about making a different story and not calling it Love Aaj Kal 2. I was calling it Reverse. But later on, it was decided that maybe it would be better to call it Love Aaj Kal 2, which was not a big service to the film. The fact that it needs to be a commercially viable, profitable project is not what will keep me excited for it for two years,” he said.

Love Aaj Kal 2 was severely bashed for its lead actors’ performances.