Imtiaz Ali admits being ’embarassed’ about Jab We Met; calls it a movie ‘without a plot’: ‘It is a film about nothing’

Meanwhile, the director reflected on the film’s legacy, expressing astonishment at how a movie “without a plot” managed to captivate audiences for so many years. “I knew there was something good about it even then, but I was always embarrassed about the story. Because it is a film about nothing (in terms of plot). What is it? How do I sell or pitch it? I didn’t know if it was worth pursuing. Also, it is a highly rejected film, in terms of acting, producing etcetera,” Ali told IndiaToday.In.

The director further recalled: “Shahid, I must say, was very receptive to the story. He was the only one who thought that this could be a good film.”

Dubbing it as his most intimate project, Ali added: “It has been so many years, but even today I feel that this film was the most mine. And now I feel that this was my friend that I knew very well at the time. It belongs to the people, rather than me, anymore. There are people who come up to me and quote the film to me, and it is embarrassing sometimes because I don’t remember the film that well. It has been so many years.”

Underlining the unlikelihood of a sequel to Jab We Met, he said, “The way the story has ended, I don’t know what can happen to it now. I don’t think there is anything there. In Love Aaj Kal, there was at least that concept of two worlds meeting that could be sustained. Here, (there is) nothing.”

Bankrolled by by Dhilin Mehta under his banner Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision, Jab We Met’s songs were composed by Pritam Chakraborty, except for the track “Aaoge Jab Tum” which was created by Sandesh Shandilya. The film earned Shreya Ghoshal the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song “Yeh Ishq Haaye”.