Imtiaz Ali recalls being abducted from Delhi college hostel over political dispute
Imtiaz Ali recalled a shocking incident from his college days when he was abducted from his Delhi hostel after a dispute over a political poster.
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali recently opened up about a shocking incident from his college days. The director recalled being allegedly abducted from his Delhi hostel in the middle of the night by a local gang after a dispute over a political poster. Sharing the story in a recent interview, Imtiaz said a seemingly minor disagreement on campus escalated into a frightening confrontation. However, an unexpected twist eventually helped him escape unharmed.
Speaking on Unfiltered with Samdish, Imtiaz revisited the incident from his days at Hindu College, from where he graduated in 1993. The filmmaker said the episode stemmed from student politics, which at the time was marked by rivalry between NSUI and ABVP supporters on campus.
Recalling the incident, he said, "At that time, there was the usual NSUI versus ABVP rivalry in universities. Someone had put up a poster on the wall of my hostel. I told them not to put it on the front face of the hostel and instead use the side walls. They deliberately pasted it on the front wall. In front of them, I removed it and put it up on the side. They left. A few days later, around 2 am, one of my hostel mates came and told me to run because those people were coming. They arrived and said, ‘Come with us.’ I asked where, but they had come in a cycle rickshaw to take me away."
According to Imtiaz, he was then forced into the cycle rickshaw and taken to a government-quarters-like area, where he was questioned by a gang leader associated with a political organisation. The director explained that he had never torn the poster, as alleged, but had only shifted it from the hostel's front wall because he felt it affected the building's appearance.
The situation took an unexpected turn when the gang leader began questioning his own associates about what had actually happened.
Recalling the incident, Imtiaz said the gang leader asked one of his associates whether he had actually torn the poster. When the man admitted that Imtiaz had only removed it and not torn it, the gang leader became furious, pointing out that he had been told otherwise. The two then got into an argument, following which the gang leader slapped his associate twice for misleading him. The confrontation ended there, allowing Imtiaz to leave unharmed.
The filmmaker shared the anecdote while discussing memories from his college days, offering a glimpse into a dramatic chapter of his life long before he became one of Bollywood's most celebrated directors.
On the work front, Imtiaz Ali is gearing up for the release of his upcoming film Main Vaapas Aaunga. 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 intergenerational connections across two timelines. The film is slated to hit theatres on June 12.