During a recent interview, Imtiaz Ali expressed his enthusiasm for creating the ‘eternal’ love story of Radha and Krishna, which he announced back in 2018.
One of Bollywood’s most acclaimed filmmakers, Imtiaz Ali, is currently celebrating the success of his latest directorial venture, “Amar Singh Chamkila,” starring Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra. However, in 2018, Ali had announced his intention to create a film depicting the timeless love story of Radha and Krishna.
The film, initially set to be produced by Reliance Entertainment, unfortunately never materialized. In a recent interview, Imtiaz Ali, the director of “Amar Singh Chamkila,” finally shared his thoughts on the progress of the Radha-Krishna love story film.
Speaking to News 18 Showsha, Imtiaz Ali recently discussed his 2018 announcement regarding an epic love story based on Radha and Krishna. Expressing his keenness to make the film, Ali cited his inspiration from their stories and mythology. However, he emphasized the need to embody “some of the characteristics of Radha and Krishna” before undertaking the project. He stated, “I want to make the Radha Krishna film. I’m very inspired by their stories and the mythology. But I’ve to bring myself to a position where I can make it, and by that I don’t mean a physical position. It’s just that I need to imbibe some of the characteristics of Radha and Krishna in myself to be able to make that film.”
Imtiaz also admitted to waiting for the opportune moment to bring this story to Indian audiences. He encouraged them to pray for its realization, expressing his belief that when he is making a film, he has to “get there somehow.” The filmmaker remarked, “That time will come, hopefully. To all those who want to watch this film, I would urge them to pray that I can make it.”
Imtiaz Ali, reflecting on the success of his latest film, “Amar Singh Chamkila,” mentioned that while his previous two directorial ventures, “Jab Harry Met Sejal” and “Love Aaj Kal,” didn’t perform as expected at the box office, the success of his recent release has renewed his faith in the “truly evolved” Indian audience. He acknowledged the audience’s ability to grasp the subtleties and nuances of his films.
“We might say things like humaara audience bewakoof hai (our audience is stupid), but I think we, as filmmakers, cannot reach the level of this audience. They’ve digested some very complicated and sophisticated texts like the Mahabharat and the Ramayana and understood every moral in them. We can’t say that we’re making films that are more complicated than these mythologies!”
In 2018, on the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami, Imtiaz Ali made an official announcement about his film based on the love story of Radha and Krishna. Taking to his Instagram handle, he shared a monochromatic photo of a peacock feather and a flute, expressing his fascination with the eternal love story of Radha and Krishna. He wrote, “I have always been fascinated by the eternal love story of Radha and Krishna. In all of Indian folklore, I know of no other story, which is so intensely personal and yet has such an epic scale. It has been my dream to step into the world of Radha Krishna.”
“And I shall do so with my next film in association with @reliance.entertainment which will be written & directed by me based on this epic love saga for generations. #WindowSeatFilms,” he concluded.
Shibasish Sarkar of Reliance Entertainment commented, “Imtiaz’s idea to bring this eternal love story to the big screen is extremely fascinating, and we are delighted to partner with him on this journey. We are exploring various collaborations on the project to make it of a scale befitting its epic nature.”
