Imtiaz Ali

“I think 'Rockstar' is more dear to me than any of my other films.”

“The physical journey in my films is indicative of the internal journey that my characters take.”

“I want to direct what I feel is interesting - not what is supposed to be my zone.”

“I enjoy looking beyond the obvious and look at the stories happening all around me - you kind of formulate things in your mind and get excited about them.”

“When you write a story, it just flows and you don't control it. It's subconscious.”

“Coming from a middle class background, travel was always considered a luxury then, even if it meant going to a relative's place or a religious shrine.”

“I was complexed and awkward that I was good for nothing and was always lying. I would lie to my school friends that I was a stud in my colony and to my colony friends that I was a stud in the school cricket and football teams, though I was in no team.”

“The story of 'Highway' is completely about travel. It is about the fascination of travel to an extent that I don't want to even reach the destination and also being away from society gives you a certain view of the society, so that was the intention of the film.”

“Through travel, you discover a new aspect to your personality. You discover things which you wouldn't seated in the confines of your home.”

“I come from a middle class background. I have travelled a lot by trains and have lived in the world. It is a world I cannot get away from; I would not even want to.”

“I have always tried to make profitable films because people's offices shut down if films fail, and I will do everything to avoid that.”

“I just write characters, and somehow they happen to be a boy and a girl. When the story is put together, and their characters interwoven, they do end up together somehow.”

“'Love Aaj Kal' is not really a road movie, but it does involve some travel.”

“Dilip Kumar was the only Bollywood hero who could make a girl shiver just by looking at her. If you don't believe it, ask your mom!”

“All the conscious decisions that I have taken in my life have never borne fruit. Not even come close! So, I am just very happy not planning.”

“I want all my films to look distinctly different, like some other directors I admire. But in a way, I can't really take myself completely out of the movies I make.”

“I'm not educated about cinema or genres.”

“I think I am a travel junkie, and I have never enjoyed anything else in my life more than travelling and going to places.”

“I try to travel as much as I can... I'm always looking for a reason to.”

“My job is to tell a story, and the decisions about the casting have to be honest.”