Imtiaz Ali Reveals Reading Rig Veda, Bhagavad Gita As A Child: ‘It Helped Me Understand People’

Director Imtiaz Ali recently shared in an interview how reading the Rig Veda and Bhagavad Gita at a young age profoundly influenced him. Speaking with Ranveer Allahbadia, Ali candidly explained why these sacred texts became part of his early reading.

Ali recounted encountering the hymn of creation from the Rig Veda in a book he was reading and being deeply moved by it. “I couldn’t move past it; I understood what it meant. Bhagavad Gita has also been an important book in my life, it’s still that book I keep on my table. In sixth grade, I was travelling alone by train and money was tight. And ironically it was the only book I could afford to buy at the railway station. I also thought people around me would find it weird and wonder why I was reading it,” he shared.

He also mentioned being pleasantly surprised by the accessibility of the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings. “There were a few things I had to re-read ten times to understand, but I understood it. I would read a few pages every day. It’s now deep within me; I’m lucky I was exposed at such a young age. It has helped me understand people better. I’ve read other religious texts too. They’re interesting and entertaining, if I find a nugget that resonates with me, it makes my day,” Ali added.

He also opened up about the box office failure of Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma starrer ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’. The director said that he tried to “experiment” with the 2017 romance comedy, but it failed terribly.

Despite the hit pairing of SRK and Anushka, Jab Harry Met Sejal turned out to be a massive failure at the box office, having a lifetime gross of reported Rs 60 crore, “So what if it didn’t do well, it is still your film,’ I was told. Toh mujhe bohot dard hua. It is an unfortunate child. I felt a sense of ownership over the film, I felt like telling it, ‘I am not embarrassed of you brother, you are mine, as much as any other film of mine.’ So, in that moment, I felt a strange melancholy, ek ajeeb sa dard mehsoos hua, that oh this was an unsuccessful film, which I didn’t feel it in this manner back then. But I could feel at this point. Back then, calculations were happening, I was reading people’s faces, I could sense disappointment. I had dengue, so I was also bed ridden for a month,” Imtiaz recalled.

Imtiaz Ali’s latest directorial venture, ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’, features Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra in leading roles. This biographical drama, available on Netflix, chronicles the rise and tragic end of the iconic Punjabi singer and his wife, Amarjot Kaur. The film has garnered positive reviews from both audiences and critics.