Imtiaz Ali recalls being kidnapped from Delhi college hostel due to political dispute
Imtiaz Ali recalls a shocking incident from his college days when he was kidnapped from a Delhi hostel following a dispute over a political poster.
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali recently revealed about a shocking incident from his college days. The director recalled that he was allegedly kidnapped from his Delhi hostel in the middle of the night by a local gang following a dispute over a political poster. Sharing the story in a recent interview, Imtiaz said that a minor disagreement on the campus turned into a horrific confrontation. However, an unexpected turn eventually helps him escape to safety.
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But I am saying Unfiltered with SamdishImtiaz recounted the incident from his days at Hindu College, from which he graduated in 1993. The filmmaker said that the episode stemmed from student politics, which was marked by the rivalry between NSUI and ABVP supporters on campus at that time.
Recalling the incident, he said, “At that time there was usually an NSUI vs ABVP rivalry in universities. Someone had pasted a poster on the wall of my hostel. I told them not to put it on the front of the hostel and use the side walls instead. They deliberately pasted it on the front wall. In front of them, I removed it and put it on the side. They left. A few days later, around 2 o’clock, one of the people in my hostel The fellow came and told me to run away because there were people.” Are coming. They came and said, ‘Come with us.’ I asked where, but they came in a cycle rickshaw to take me.
According to Imtiaz, he was then forcibly placed in a cycle rickshaw and taken to a government quarter-like area, where he was interrogated by the leader of a gang associated with a political organisation. The director explained that he had never torn the poster as alleged, but had only removed it from the front wall of the hostel because he felt it would affect the appearance of the building.
The situation took an unexpected turn when the gang leader started questioning his own associates about what had really happened.
Recalling the incident, Imtiaz said that the gang leader asked one of his associates if he had really torn the poster. When the man admitted that Imtiaz had only removed it and not torn it, the gang leader became angry, and said that he had been told otherwise. After this, there was an argument between the two, after which the gang leader slapped his associate twice for misleading him. The confrontation ended there, leaving Imtiaz safe.
The filmmaker shared anecdotes while discussing memories from his college days, giving a glimpse of a dramatic chapter of his life long before he became one of Bollywood’s most celebrated directors.
Talking about work front, Imtiaz Ali is preparing for the release of his upcoming film. I will come back. The film stars Diljit Dosanjh, Vedang Raina, Sharvari and Naseeruddin Shah.
Set against the backdrop of Partition, the story explores themes of love, longing and inter-generational relationships across two time periods. This film is going to be released in theaters on June 12.