Imtiaz Ali (Director) Wiki, Age, Girlfriend, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Imtiaz Ali is an Indian film director, producer, and writer. He rose to fame after directing the Bollywood film “Jab We Met.”

Wiki/Biography

Imtiaz Ali was born on 16 June 1971 (age 52 years; as of 2023) in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. He spent some of the early years of his life in Patna. His zodiac sign is Gemini.

Ali’s father was an employee of the Irrigation Department, so, he often accompanied him, which gave him a view of the innards of India. He attended St. Michael’s High School, Patna and D.B.M.S. English School, Jamshedpur.

During his mid-term schooling, Imtiaz resided with his aunt at the Krim Mansion in Jamshedpur. The house was attached to a Cinema Hall which allowed him to watch the films for free. He befriended the projectionist of the Cinema and would see him changing the film-reels. Imtiaz was not so good at studies and even failed his 9th standard. However, his father encouraged him to pursue the Civil Services. After completing his schooling, he enrolled himself into the Hindu College, the University of Delhi to pursue his graduation. He even started preparing for the Civil Services but his interest in Cinema and drama pulled him to start Ibtida, the dramatics society of the Hindu College. Thereafter, he moved to Delhi to pursue a course in filmmaking from Xavier Institution of Communication. He even did a course in advertising and marketing afterwards.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5’ 10”

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family, Caste & Wife

Imtiaz Ali belongs to an Islamic Family. His father, Mansoor Ali, was an employee of the Irrigation Department. Not much is known about his mother. He has an elder brother, Arif Ali, director, and a younger brother, Sajid Ali.

Imtiaz got married to Preety Ali, a producer, and has a daughter named Ida Ali. The couple got divorced in 2012.

Imtiaz is rumoured to be dating the Pakistani actress, Iman Ali.

Career

Imtiaz started his career as a writer with Crest Communications where his job was to feed the TV programmers with the scripts. While doing this job, he used to sit in front of a computer for 17 hours a day. Subsequently, he directed shows like “Imtehaan,” “Naina,” and “Kurukshetra” for Doordarshan. He, then, wrote the script of “Socha Na Tha” and when he came to know that the actor Sunny Deol was searching for a script to launch his cousin Abhay Deol, Ali approached him to work on his script. It took him 3 years to complete the film. However, the film did not perform well at the box office.

Next, he directed “Jab We Met” starring Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, which became a box office success. Thereafter, he directed commercial successes like “Love Aaj Kal” (2009) and “Rockstar” (2011).

In 2014, Imtiaz made a film titled “Highway.” The film was critically acclaimed. In fact, it was the first script written by him, which he wrote around 20 years before its release. Ali continued his directorial journey with films like “Tamasha” and “Jab harry Met Sejal.”

Apart from writing and directing, he has also tried his hands in acting with the film “Black Friday” based on the Mumbai bomb blasts in which he played the role of ‘Yakub Memon.’

Favourite Things

• Films: Junoon, The English Patient, In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express, Map of the Human Heart, Prisoner of the Mountains

• Writer: Ruskin Bond

  Imtiaz Ali with Ruskin Bond

• Cricketer: Kapil Dev

  Imtiaz Ali with Kapil Dev

Facts/Trivia

• His hobbies include travelling, reading books, and writing.

  Imtiaz Ali loves to read

• Imtiaz is often found smoking and drinking alcohol.

• Imtiaz revealed during an interview that he is very confused about his personality, which is often reflected in the characters of his movies.

• His first salary was of ₹1,500 which he received by working under Kunal Kohli at Zee TV.

• In April 2020, amid the nationwide lockdown due to Corona pandemic, he shared a photo on his Instagram about his first car, a Maruti 800. His Instagram post reads,
  

  my first car, it’s first highway run – to Goa! yeah, going down memory lane during lockdown 😊 #HappinessInLockdown… Thanks Tara for looking for the picture.”

  Imtiaz Ali’s Instagram Post About His First Car