There’s no one who writes and shows heartbreak and longing better than master filmmaker Imtiaz Ali. Inspired by the poems of Faiz and Rumi, Imtiaz has given us some of the most cherished characters in his films over the years. Right from Highway where Veera finds herself after all the shackles of society are broken to Ved in Tamasha who wakes up one day, driven by love to stop running in the rat race and find what makes him happy on the inside.
Imtiaz also explores the concepts of right and wrong, death and life, love and passion in his stories. He usually personifies one of the leads as love itself and makes them play a catalyst in the life of the other to find direction and meaning.
Complex, relatable and memorable, we look back at 6 of Imtiaz’s finest written characters. Take a look.
1. Geet from Jab We Met
We all have a Geet in us. The bubbly and full of life girl who finds solace and acceptance in love and connections only. She’s not only ‘apni favourite’ but is everyone’s favourite too. She thinks she can fix everything and when she bumps into a heartbroken Aditya, she takes it upon herself to mend his broken heart. But we also see another side of her life when she faces heartbreak at the hands of her first love. Her life loses meaning, she forgets the purpose of her existence and accepts to drift with life. A chance of luck and roles reverse when Aditya takes it on himself to fix Geet. She’s adamant, she’s broken and she feels she’s beyond repair. Geet is all of us in so many ways and we forever thank Imtiaz for making her the flawed but beautiful woman she was.
2. Jordan in Rockstar
One of Imtiaz’s most complex characters ever, with Janardhan Jakhar aka JJ aka Jordan the filmmaker gave us our first on-screen rockstar and a character we now associate with heartache and longing. The concept of love where art rises like a phoenix from a broken heart was beautifully portrayed in the complex emotions of the film’s lead. He did not know love, he didn’t know when he was in love and then he had a touch-and-go with having what he loved. All of it, the raw dialogues where JJ talks of being bitter even in success and how he will give up the world to save his heart and the woman he loves, Imtiaz made us believe in the misery and loss of a connection with Rockstar.
3. Jai/Veer in Love Aaj Kal
Love Aaj Kal is one of Imtiaz’s most beautiful films. The way he draws parallels in love over the years with his characters, Jai and Veer, makes you realise that circumstances may change, but love, in the core, is the same pure feeling. We see a modern Jai who puts love and relationships after his career and lifestyle. Veer on the other hand will give up his life for the woman he loves. One celebrates a mutual breakup, the other risks his life to get a glimpse of his love. The chai and the coffee, the conversations and the contradictions, Love Aaj Kal was a beautiful story of the consistency of love in its changing surroundings.
4. Veronica from Cocktail
Imtiaz did not direct this film but you could see glimpses of his storytelling in the lead character Veronica. Detached from the world, living each day as it comes and drowning herself in materialistic pleasures to avoid confronting her fears, Veronica was a beautifully complicated character. She was easy on life but had her issues with it. You’d think she'd be okay with a heartbreak and will move on quickly but something snaps in her when her own best friend falls in love with her boyfriend. Her emotions reach a peak, they spill over in the form of a tragedy. She loses her mind and can only think of achieving what is being taken away from her. Her journey from irrationality to acceptance is what makes her character so real and raw.
5. Veera from Highway
Here’s a girl lost in the world of decisions taken by her family. She doesn’t have an escape and one day, life changes. She is kidnapped but her reaction to this is not how one would accept. Veera finds freedom in her kidnapper. Her responsibilities and societal shackles break as she finds herself travelling through highways with her kidnapper. At some point, we almost understand the Stockholm syndrome that she suffers from. She’s got nothing to lose and she’s okay to die at the hands of her kidnapper only to feel alive for a day.
6. Ved From Tamasha
This one touches the heart and mind. We meet Ved as Don, a man who doesn’t believe in labels, names, planning to even think of consequences. He believes in living in the moment. Back to his life, Ved is nothing like Don. He is a man living by a calendar and a clock. He is a man of routine. Running the rat race, working for a promotion, nodding his head to accept his fate, Ved was frustrating. Then comes love in the form of Tara. Ved finds his tipping point because he has finally met someone who sees him for what he wants to be and not what he is pretending to be. He breaks down and then rises back again. He finds the courage to take charge of his life, he even acts up in front of a boss he never even looked straight in the eye. Ved gradually becomes Don. He is weary of the routine and finds his passion for storytelling. Ved again, is like many of us who forget what they like only to live upto some expectations. Ved makes you believe you can break through and get what you want.
Tell us which is your favoruite character written by Imtiaz Ali from the above and which one do you relate the most to.
from filmfares
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