Director Imtiaz Ali has spoken openly about why he has no interest in making sequels just for commercial success, and during that conversation, he ended up calling his 2020 film with Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan, Love Aaj Kal, a “useless experiment”. The filmmaker admitted that the movie was never originally planned as part of the Love Aaj Kal franchise and was supposed to release under a completely different title.
Imtiaz made the comments while promoting his upcoming film Main Vaapas Aaunga, which stars Diljit Dosanjh, Naseeruddin Shah, Sharvari and Vedang Raina. During an interview with Zoom, the filmmaker reflected on sequels, franchise films and why he now feels that forcing a continuation of a successful film can sometimes damage the story itself.
“Why doesn’t someone else make Jab We Met 2 with both of you?” he said during the conversation. When asked whether he was comfortable giving away the film, Imtiaz replied, “100 percent.”
But when he was further asked if he would write the sequel himself, the filmmaker clearly said, “Would I write it? No. Someone can make it if they have a story.”
Looking back at the project now, Imtiaz admitted that connecting the film to the earlier Love Aaj Kal may not have been the right decision.
“Actually, it is not exciting to do a story for the reason that it’s a commercially viable thing. That’s a wrong way to start something. So I don’t want to do that. Unless there is something that is really pulling me to make a movie, a second part of a movie… Something just comes like that. But I’m not really keen to explore a part two just for the heck of it,” he said.
The filmmaker then explained how the film slowly turned into what he now sees as an unnecessary sequel attempt. “In Love Aaj Kal 2, I did that because I already had the story and I was excited about it. It didn’t work is a different matter. Love Aaj Kal 2 also told me that this is a useless experiment because it’s not even a viable project, if you don’t want to make it. Love Aaj Kal 2 was a story in itself. I could have made a different story,” he said.
“There was a time when I was thinking about making a different story and not calling it Love Aaj Kal 2. I was calling it Reverse. But later on, it was decided that maybe it would be better to call it Love Aaj Kal 2, which was not a big service to the film,” he explained.
The director also added that the pressure of making commercially profitable films is not enough motivation for him anymore. “The fact that it needs to be a commercially viable, profitable project is not what will keep me excited for it for two years,” he said.
Meanwhile, Imtiaz is now preparing for the release of Main Vaapas Aaunga, a story that moves between the Partition era and present day timelines. The film also reunites him with music composer A. R. Rahman and lyricist Irshad Kamil after their earlier collaborations.
Imtiaz made the comments while promoting his upcoming film Main Vaapas Aaunga, which stars Diljit Dosanjh, Naseeruddin Shah, Sharvari and Vedang Raina. During an interview with Zoom, the filmmaker reflected on sequels, franchise films and why he now feels that forcing a continuation of a successful film can sometimes damage the story itself.
Imtiaz Ali says sequels should not be made only for business
The discussion started when Imtiaz Ali was asked about the possibility of a sequel to Jab We Met. The director surprised many by saying he would not mind if somebody else made the film with Vedang Raina and Sharvari in lead roles.“Why doesn’t someone else make Jab We Met 2 with both of you?” he said during the conversation. When asked whether he was comfortable giving away the film, Imtiaz replied, “100 percent.”
But when he was further asked if he would write the sequel himself, the filmmaker clearly said, “Would I write it? No. Someone can make it if they have a story.”
‘Love Aaj Kal 2 was a useless experiment’
While speaking about sequels, Imtiaz Ali also revisited Love Aaj Kal, which released in February 2020 with Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan in lead roles. The film had generated strong buzz before release because it followed the popular 2009 film of the same name starring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone. But after release, the movie received heavy criticism for its writing, dialogues and performances.Looking back at the project now, Imtiaz admitted that connecting the film to the earlier Love Aaj Kal may not have been the right decision.
“Actually, it is not exciting to do a story for the reason that it’s a commercially viable thing. That’s a wrong way to start something. So I don’t want to do that. Unless there is something that is really pulling me to make a movie, a second part of a movie… Something just comes like that. But I’m not really keen to explore a part two just for the heck of it,” he said.
The filmmaker then explained how the film slowly turned into what he now sees as an unnecessary sequel attempt. “In Love Aaj Kal 2, I did that because I already had the story and I was excited about it. It didn’t work is a different matter. Love Aaj Kal 2 also told me that this is a useless experiment because it’s not even a viable project, if you don’t want to make it. Love Aaj Kal 2 was a story in itself. I could have made a different story,” he said.
Film was originally titled ‘Reverse’
Imtiaz Ali further revealed that the film was initially not meant to carry the Love Aaj Kal brand at all. According to him, the original working title of the movie was Reverse.“There was a time when I was thinking about making a different story and not calling it Love Aaj Kal 2. I was calling it Reverse. But later on, it was decided that maybe it would be better to call it Love Aaj Kal 2, which was not a big service to the film,” he explained.
The director also added that the pressure of making commercially profitable films is not enough motivation for him anymore. “The fact that it needs to be a commercially viable, profitable project is not what will keep me excited for it for two years,” he said.
Meanwhile, Imtiaz is now preparing for the release of Main Vaapas Aaunga, a story that moves between the Partition era and present day timelines. The film also reunites him with music composer A. R. Rahman and lyricist Irshad Kamil after their earlier collaborations.
