Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali visited the capital on Friday to launch The Hapless Voyager, the debut book for his childhood friend-turned-author, Satyartha Mishra. “I still remember the taste of parantha and aachaar that Satyartha’s mother used to feed us. Back then Satyartha never showed me the kindness of sharing his lunchbox,” he said, adding, “We had a certain upbringing. Our parents taught us to respect others and least for oneself. This is the reason we have ability to love everyone but not ourselves.”

The 54-year-old, whose films Love Aaj Kal (2009), Rockstar (2011), Highway (2014), Tamasha (2015), Love Aaj Kal (2020) have been shot in Delhi, also stated that his hometown Patna is not a glamorous city. “We tend to make them realise that they shouldn’t be proud of themselves for belonging to Patna, unlike how one is proud of Lucknow and its culture.”

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Imtiaz’s films are mostly human dramas and travelogues that are stitched in a non-linear manner. “Thoughts don’t come in a linear fashion. I could think of something when I was in the 8th standard and I could think of something about yesterday or today right after each other. I wouldn’t think of anything in the sequence,” he said.

Author Satyartha said, “We were going to Ajmer and he was constantly writing on his laptop and that’s how Highway was born. I don’t think there’s any other director who shows men’s vulnerability like Imtiaz.”