Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali On Why He Never Follows A Fixed Itinerary

Imtiaz Ali never hires a guide or follows a travel itinerary. The filmmaker records the places he sees, the food he eats and the music he hears—in his mind

- Humaira Ansa

Once Upon A Time there lived a handsome prince in the kingdom of Jordan. Young and carefree, he loved playing with his pet dog, and riding his white pony through his estate’s cobbled streets, soaking in the aromas of fresh fruits and fatty meats. Although he was the king’s ninth and youngest son, the prince was known to solve problems with his common sense, goodness and positivity.

This is the bedtime story filmmaker Imtiaz Ali’s daughter, Ida, grew up listening to. She is now 16, has finished her Class 10 exams, and is soon set to visit Jordan with her dad. Ida is now old enough to realise that the real Jordan is a place more layered than in the fairy tales she heard. And dashing as Jordan’s current crown prince Hussein bin Abdullah might be, he is more likely to be taming a Ducati than riding a pony.

“Jordan was a fictional place I created in both Ida’s mind and mine since she was two,” says Ali, who “randomly” decided to weave a fairy tale around Jordan one night. “Now that we’re planning to go there real soon, we’re excited about exploring a country that has been part of our imagination for years.”