4 min readMumbaiJun 6, 2026 11:31 AM IST
One of the biggest blemishes on filmmaker Imtiaz Ali’s career remains his 2017 romantic comedy-drama Jab Harry Met Sejal, which marked his first collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma. The film generated immense buzz ahead of its release for obvious reasons, but upon hitting theatres, it was met with a largely negative response from both critics and audiences, eventually emerging as a major box office disappointment. Over the years, Imtiaz has repeatedly reflected on the film and why it continues to remain one of his biggest regrets as a filmmaker.
‘Jab Harry Met Sejal is 3 out of 10’
Recently, during an appearance on Unfiltered by Samdish, Imtiaz was asked to rate the film out of 10. His answer was blunt: “3”. When asked why, he said, “I feel it was an opportunity lost, because of the potential of the story. I should have dealt with it in a different way.” He further added, “I liked the potential of the story more than the story and definitely more than the film.”
The filmmaker then elaborated on the core idea that had inspired the story in the first place. “So in Harry Sejal, I felt there are many people like this, for instance, a man from a small village who, being Punjabi, is fascinated by the idea of going abroad. He goes there with the tenderness and innocence of his heart, but gradually becomes hardened by life. Say he falls for a girl there, and when he gets a chance to be intimate with her, it becomes a deeply tender moment for him. If he misses that opportunity, he would keep thinking about it all night.”
He continued, “But when this man sees that same girl being intimate with another man, what he goes through emotionally is something he cannot deal with. It would have been extremely difficult for him. Perhaps this happened to him once or twice. He is, after all, a boy from a small village, but in that environment, sex is often a transactional thing. So over a period of time, he decides that whenever he experiences intimacy, he will leave immediately after it ends. He will not stay back and allow himself to be tender, because that would hurt too much.”
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‘I felt a strange melancholy’
A few years ago, Imtiaz had also spoken about the film’s failure and the emotional toll it took on him. In an interview with Ranveer Allahbadia, he recalled, “‘So what if it didn’t do well, it is still your film,’ I was told. Toh mujhe bohot dard hua. It is an unfortunate child. I felt a sense of ownership over the film, I felt like telling it, ‘I am not embarrassed of you brother, you are mine, as much as any other film of mine.’ So, in that moment, I felt a strange melancholy, ek ajeeb sa dard mehsoos hua, that oh this was an unsuccessful film, which I didn’t feel it in this manner back then. But I could feel at this point. Back then, calculations were happening, I was reading people’s faces, I could sense disappointment. I had dengue, so I was also bed ridden for a month.”
Imtiaz Ali is now gearing up for the release of Main Vaapas Aaunga, which is slated to hit theatres on June 12.
Shah Rukh Khan in a still from Jab Harry Met Sejal