Imtiaz Ali opens up about facing abuse from a Punjabi local during 'Jab We Met' shoot

Director Imtiaz Ali shared an intriguing incident from the shoot of his film ‘Jab We Met’ in Punjab while making an appearance on an episode of ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’ along with his ‘Chamkila’ star Diljit Dosanjh.

While opening up about his new film on Amar Singh Chamkila, the director recounted an incident from the ‘Jab We Met’ shoot when a local objected to the portrayal of Dara Singhji’s family, while picking on the colour of the turban.

Imtiaz recalled, “I have shot in Punjab several times, and in Punjab, during the evening people get into a mood. During the Jab We Met shoot, one man started abusing and saying cuss words, and people were trying to throw him out, but I went and spoke to him. So he said that I was doing something very wrong in showing Dara Singhji’s family. He objected to the colour of the turban that was being shown””

The filmmaker recounted how he appointed a local individual on set to ensure cultural sensitivities were respected. He added, “He said that was wrong, and the costume designer defended saying that the local man was right, but in films this kind of liberty works. But that’s when I said if I wanted to take regular liberties in filmmaking, why would I hire him from Punjab? The costume designer agreed to the local man, and then I put him in charge of the set, where till the time we were shooting we would run things through him and ask if he was okay with them. So slowly even I came to understand the different colours of Punjab.”

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