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1. Amity Journal of Media & Communication Studies (ISSN 2231 – 1033) Copyright 2017 by ASCO
2017, Vol. 7, No. 1 Amity University Rajasthan
50
Analyzing Imtiaz Ali as an Auteur
Kanika Kachroo Arya
Dnyanasadhana College, Mumbai University, India
Abstract
Imtiaz Ali is a contemporary Bollywood director whose genre is love stories. He has a stream of experimental love stories to
his credit, some bench markers are Jab We Met, Rockstar and Tamasha. Not only is his storytelling a well nurtured
individualistic style, but the use of techniques of cinema are also experimental. My research paper will analyse this director in
the boundaries of Auteur theory. The research will be a qualitative study and methodology used will be in-depth interviews
and observation and use of secondary research resources to build up affirmation towards my hypothesis. This director’s style
will be compared with other stalwarts of the genre like Raj Kapoor and Yash Chopra. This will carve out his style more
specifically. Imtiaz Ali has a unique style aesthetically as well as technically. He understands the psychology of his target
audience and that’s what has carved a niche for him in Bollywood - a cult director of romance genre.
Key words: Auteur Theory, Direction, Niche, Bollywood.
Introduction
Imtiaz Ali is one amongst the contemporary directors of Bollywood. His directorial debut was Socha Na Tha released in
2005. Though the movie did not do well but he received a lot of critical acclaim for it. Jab we Met (2007) and Rockstar
(2011) brought him into limelight. Jab We Met was a box office success and Rockstar was appreciated in critical circles
for superb rendition of a careless musician. It is considered one of his best works, and has a classic performance given by
Ranbir Kapoor. This write up will analyse the work of this particular director under the framework of Auteur Theory.
Imtiaz Ali has created a signature style in Bollywood with not only his aesthetic delivery but technical perspective as
well. Most of his movies track the contemporary youth’s life, his genre is romance but his portrayal is very different
from Bollywood stereotypes. There are no affluent families, huge sets, and extended song and dance sequences in
foreign locales irrespective of the setting, high decibel melodrama and a predictable storyline. Ali’s portrayal has not so
perfect protagonists going through their internal conflicts and living a basic middle class life. The actors have subtle
acting styles, a mix of Indian and foreign locales as setting, average music but strongly connected to story’s theme and a
very unpredictable storytelling style with heavy use of symbols and motifs. This last point is what majorly sets him apart
from majority bollywood directors, as he forces his audience to experiment, think and gauge a situation in their mind
rather than spoon-feeding them.
Literature review
Film making is not a one man job. Literature is an avenue where author is the whole and sole of his story and
characters, but film being a widely dynamic and technical medium cannot be entailed as one man’s work. It is a team
work and can be created when the technical, aesthetics and finance work in tandem with each other. But there is this one
person whose vision overpowers all other parts of filmmaking. It is this person who has an idea and that idea is
culminated into an audio visual entity with the help of a team but the essence of a film is this man- the director.
Auteur theory has gauged filmmaking since 1950’s; the torch bearer of the theory was director and critic François
Truffaut. This theory propagated because of the French New Wave and the film critics who wrote for the French
periodical Cahiers du Cinéma. Auteur theory evolved in the United States through the writings of The Village Voice
critic Andrew Sarris (Chaudhari, 2013, p.4). Akira Kurosawa, Satyajit Ray, Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, and Jean
Renoir are known as auteurs due to their extraordinary personal influence upon their films. Alexandre Astruc introduced
the term ‘caméra-stylo’ or camera-pen, which added up to the auteur theory and it meant that directors must use camera
as a pen is used by author and create unconventional storytelling methods.
Truffaut and his colleagues at Cahiers du Cinéma believed that to be an auteur a director had to create a strong
visual style like Alfred Hitchcock or a strong thematic style like Jean Renoir. It was Andrew Sarris who actually
formulated the theory in 1960’s and applied it to U.S. Cinema, he discussed three aspects on the basis of which auteur
theory could be applied, and these included technical aspects, personal style and inner meaning which exudes in a

2. Amity Journal of Media & Communication Studies (ISSN 2231 – 1033) Copyright 2017 by ASCO
2017, Vol. 7, No. 1 Amity University Rajasthan
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particular film. According to Sarris, to be a great director it is very important to be a good director; thus, the first
condition will be satisfied only when the director has a unique technical rendering of his thoughts. Also the second
condition is fulfilled when time and again, a director shows invisibly through his work, it can be through his portrayal of
an intense romantic scene or a non verbal yet strong communion; the third condition is fulfilled when the director’s
sensibility percolates through his works and can be gauged by an intense reading of his works (Chaudhari, 2013, p.8).
For e.g. - In Guru Dutt’s movies - Pyaasa, Kagaz Ke Phool and Sahib, Biwi Aur Ghulam , his creation of protagonist
who are fighting a self inflicted battle, his constant melancholic storytelling and intense moments in which humanity is
de-humanized create a unique style of the director and his personality shows through all three of his works.
Indian Cinema has produced strong auteurs like Dadasaheb Phalke, Himanshu Roy, P.C. Barua, Bimal Roy, Satyajit
Ray, Guru Dutt, Adoor Gopal Krishnan, Govind Nihalani, Girish Kasarvalli, Mani Ratnam and several others, who have
created different cinematic worlds even though many of their films fall in the category of so-called mainstream cinema.
In contemporary era Ram Gopal Verma is considered having a signature style which includes intense performances and
documentary-like presentations .The comedy scenes are handled sensibly by him and not created out of physical or
psychological disabilities (Vemireddy, P.5,2011).
Also, Ram Gopal Varma’s films are often analysed on the basis of biographical elements and influences. It is said
that that Shiva and Satya have strong biographical elements. In Shiva he describes college politics and how politicians
take leverage out of it. He has stated that his college life has loosely shaped the character of Shiva. Satya talks about
regionalism and the plight of an outsider, something that he closely relates to. The director always confesses that his
films are not for an audience but for himself. His style also entails creating a brand value with the tag ’A Ram Gopal
Verma Film’. His production house known by the name ‘Factory’ strictly works on his aesthetic style and technical
elements. Also intense marketing strategies are followed to keep the brand alive in audience’s mind. According to
Vemireddy, “with consistent and recurring film narratives that deal mostly with crime, mafia, action and the politics of
power with off-beat techniques, irrespective of genre, film and stars, has established himself as a powerful auteur
(author). His basic treatment of screenplay, editing, low-key photography, bleak images, characterization and method
acting has brought new technologies and ideas” (2011, p.8).
Some more directors from bollywood who need mention include the National Film Award winning director
Hansal Mehta whose Shahid, City Lights and Aligarh track the real colours of India. Tigmanshu Dhulia is another
critically acclaimed director who has touched chords with the rough heartlands of India. His debut film Haasil launched
Irfan Khan, while his biographical drama Pan Singh Tomar bagged him a National Award. The above mentioned two
have created a niche for themselves in mainstream cinema by taking sensitive and rugged topics and bringing audience
acceptability and critical acclaim to them.
Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra is creator of a cult with movies like Rang De Basanti , a movie with a strong
contemporary theme which created a furore in the minds of young India and the Indian Judicial system. Also his camera
work and narrative strategy was very unconventional and continues to do so with the current movies from his
bandwagon. Rajkumar Hirani, also known as the Hrishikesh Mukherjee of contemporary times has made movies which
are light and enteraining but raise poignant questions about preset mindset, superstitions and rickety education system.
His movies may not have realistic characters or locales but raise pertinent issues with respect to our society
Soman (2016) says, “Vishal Bhardwaj changed the dynamics of Indian cinema when the first of his Shakespearean
tragedy ‘Maqbool’, was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2003” (n.p.). This director is a master of
multiple genres from Children movies to political satires but it is his rendition of Shakespearean tragedy in an Indian
milieu which gives him a place as a strong auteur. “The ultimate rebel of Indian cinema, Anurag Kashyap has been the
catalyst which proved instrumental in ushering in a new generation of bold and unflinchingly honest filmmakers”

3. Amity Journal of Media & Communication Studies (ISSN 2231 – 1033) Copyright 2017 by ASCO
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(Soman, 2016, n.p.). His movies depicting the dark and dingy corners of the crime life in India is quite a rare piece of
cinema.
Imtiaz Ali belongs to this current crop, the group of unconventional contemporary directors from bollywood who
have broken stereotypes time and again and tried to create quality cinema in mainstream, thus, breaking the barriers
between so called parallel and commercial; the trend which dominated Indian cinema for a long time. His journey
started with Soch Na Tha in 2005, a movie which was like a breath of fresh air in romantic genre of Bollywood, for the
first time we had two imperfect people perfectly falling in love. An unconventional romantic movie, both aesthetically
and technically for Bollywood. Jab we Met(2007) continued his romance with road, and, again we had a fresh romantic
plot which was not only about love but self realization of the protagonist. Rockstar (2011) can be considered cult, or
even a rare piece of cinema, a kind where the wrongdoer is adored by audiences. Beautiful locales, memorable music
and a confusing, exploring, evolving love story which has a paradoxical end (Malani, 2011).
Highway (2014) is another of his self exploration kind movies with a love story as a parallel plot and a road
journey again. Cinematography and emotional scenes, and Alia’s monologues along with A.R. Rahman’s music give the
movie the standard Ali signature (Chopra, 2014). Tamasha (2015) is a love story mixed up with self evolution but the
best thing is exploring the storyteller’s world through his own renditions. We are in a cynical, confusing yet a beautiful
world of stories. Nobody presented storytellers like this before. ‘The beautiful locations of Corsica, trippy camera angles
and well-stationed frames ensure the movie takes the audience on a journey to a fantasy land - one where you do not
have to play by the boring rules of real life’(Kaushal,2015). Thus, unconventional romances, self evolution as a parallel
theme, mere ordinary characters, road trips, non linear editing and experimental camera moves along with a lot of
emotional thinking is what sets Imtiaz Ali’s signature upon his movies.
Hypothesis
Imtiaz Ali is auteur of unconventional romantic cinema in Bollywood. One who has seen movies through different
eras of Bollywood , will realize how much different this director’s rendering is from others. Bollywood dominated with
romantic cinema since its inception, but very few directors could carve a niche for their kind. Ali has deglamourized
romance, created subtle characters with loopholes in their personality, carried self evolution as an undercurrent theme in
almost all his movies; and his storytelling methods infused with nonlinearity, time travel and road trips have given a
cinema which youth can identify with. It’s non formulaic experimental kind of cinema.
Research methodology
The research paper is majorly based on secondary research. The write-up discusses Auteur Theory in detail and
then mentions certain directors who through time have been titled auteur due to rare cinema that they created. Amongst
Indian directors the researcher tries to analyse Ali’s work and put him among the auteurs of Indian Cinema. In-depth
interview with a purposive sample (college goers and white collar executives living in Thane west region) in the age
group 17 to 30 was conducted. Questions were asked regarding their taste for cinema, their thoughts on romantic genre
in Bollywood, current crop of directors they like and why? Also, their reaction towards Imtiaz Ali’s cinema, what they
liked or disliked about them; views on his plot choices, storytelling methods, choice of characters and stars playing them,
unconventional themes, cinematography etc.
The audience responded enthusiastically but the directors among their top choices were Anurag Kashyap for his
realistic movies, Rajkumar Hirani for his optimistic plots and Rakesh Omprakash Mehra for an unconventional
patriotism. They also liked their plots, storytelling methods and cinematographic techniques. Very few were affirmative
towards Imtiaz Ali’s cinema. They found it off beat and difficult to understand. But the constricted number which liked
him was passionate about his kind of cinema. They liked his unconventional plots and storytelling. More than the stars
their liking was towards the portrayal of youth and its mind battles, self evolution and subtle understanding of life

4. Amity Journal of Media & Communication Studies (ISSN 2231 – 1033) Copyright 2017 by ASCO
2017, Vol. 7, No. 1 Amity University Rajasthan
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journey. They also like his unconventional technical rendering compared to Bollywood romantic cinema. Thus, the
director turned out to be more of a cult than having a mass appeal and his unconventional methods create a signature
style for him.
Observation included watching the movies with the sample and gauging their reactions. The audience was
intensely occupied with the movie watching experience. But the song sequences broke the experience in between several
times and conversation in-between was discussions about plot, characters, sequences, storytelling methods and technical
rendering of the film. The audience had a mixed response to this director, some found him bland and few others were
passionate about his cinema.
Conclusion
Imtiaz Ali is not a director with a mass appeal but one who has a cult following. His cinema is unconventional and
doesn’t follow any Bollywood formulas. Besides, his romances have parallel tracks and imperfect characters which
make the plot realistic. The lifestyle and setting portrayed is contemporary metropolitan life which makes the youth
relate to physical as well as mental presentation of his cinema. The director has non linear storytelling technique and
unconventional editing and camerawork. Imtiaz Ali is undoubtedly a contemporary auteur whose cinema is critically
acclaimed as well as has a faithful following. To him goes the credit of creating a different, deglamourized and realistic
version of romantic movies.
References
Chaudhari, Aneek. (2013). Autuer Theory and its implications .International Journal of Advancements in Research &
Technology, Volume 2, Issue 11, 77-89. http://www.ijoart.org/docs/Auteur-Theory-and-its-implications.pdf
Vemireddy, Vamshi. (2011). Ram Gopal Verma as an Auteur. Journal of Creative Communications. 6, 1&2 , 195–202.
http://crc.sagepub.com/content/6/1-2/195
Soman.Nikhil.(2016).The 20 Best Directors Working in Bolllywood Today.http://www.thecinemaholic.com/20-best-
directors-working-in-bollywood-today/
Imtiaz Ali (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2017 from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imtiaz_Ali_(director)
Chopra. Anupama.(2016,Feb 25th
). Highway leaves you deeply dissastified. Hindustan Times.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/movie-review-by-anupama-chopra-highway-leaves-you-deeply-
dissatisfied/story-OnoP5ZWYGJeDf2SPv53jO.html
(2015). Imtiaz Ali’s Box Office Track Record. https://www.bollyarena.net/imtiaz-alis-box-office-track-record/
Kaushal.Shweta.(2015). Deepika, Ranbir and their intriguing Journey. Hindustan Times.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/tamasha-review-ranbir-kapoor-steals-the-show/story-
t1200RC9VYgnoTkox3sZoJ.html