A biography for Imtiaz Alihasn’t been written yet.
“I feel whatever an actor does on screen is something the actor 'does,' and what the director can do is to tell, talk or instruct. So, all the credit for an actor's performance goes to the actor alone.”
“I am a keen observer of my own films; I also try to discover myself through the movies I make.”
“I was interested in theatre and media and came to Mumbai to get a job. I imagined that the film industry would be a white building with producers sitting in different rooms, and you could walk in and meet them, and they would interview you and select you.”
“I enjoy scenes in films, which do not have the pressure of the story so much... and it flows. I've tried to go in that direction.”
“Especially on unexpected journeys, you have time; you can figure certain deeper things out, like who you are and what you want. That's why I enjoy journeys.”
“Sometimes I don't know whether a movie has been shot on film or in digital when I watch it in the theatres.”
“My father did irrigation jobs, and I would sometimes accompany him, and that gave me a taste of what was going on in the innards of India.”
“Anything I wanted to do and achieve has not been influential in my life, but my failures have.”
“I'm a big foodie. Hyderabadi cuisine is amazing, and the kind of mutton dishes available at some restaurants in the Old City is incredible.”
“I'm not the 'look at me' kind of a person. I do not like showing off in public or written about.”
“I myself got married at a very young age. It has always intrigued me because marriage is very synthetic in an otherwise natural world.”
“Usually, you lose interest in a story beyond a certain point. But with 'Highway,' there was something very subtle, yet something very influential. I intended 'Highway' to be the first film that I ever made. Didn't happen.”
“If a person wants to enjoy attention, he will create situations to get it.”
“The film industry has been extremely welcoming to me. It's an industry which is biased to what they think is talent. If they think you can bring value to cinema, they'll support you.”
“Expenditure can't really guarantee a great experience. I don't even like shopping; I've never bought stuff for myself, and everything I wear are gifts from my brothers, friends and people.”
“I used to love Kapil Dev and, like any schoolboy, wanted to become a cricketer till I started dreaming of making movies.”
“I was called to audition for a play when I was very young, following which I continued to act as well as write and direct. When I moved to Delhi and joined Hindu College, theatre became a very big part of my life.”