Bollywood Director Imtiaz Ali Recounts Abduction by Political Gang During College Days

Bollywood director Imtiaz Ali is currently gearing up for the release of Main Vaapas Aaunga, an emotional romantic drama starring Diljit Dosanjh, Naseeruddin Shah, Vedang Raina and Sharvari Wagh. The film is scheduled to hit theatres on June 12, 2026. He is currently on a promotional spree, and in one of the videos, the filmmaker revisited memories from his college days. A graduate of Hindu College, Imtiaz recently shared a shocking story from his student years when a disagreement over a poster allegedly led to him being abducted by a local political gang in Delhi.Imtiaz Ali shares his college days memory unlike any other Imtiaz Ali has often spoken fondly about his years at Delhi University, describing them as a period that shaped his personality, worldview and creative instincts. However, not every memory from that time was pleasant. Speaking on Unfiltered by Samdish, the filmmaker recalled an incident that began with what seemed like a minor disagreement but quickly escalated into a frightening situation.According to Imtiaz, student politics was highly active on campus at the time, with rival groups frequently competing for visibility and influence. One day, members of a political group pasted a poster on the front wall of his hostel. In Delhi, I was once abducted from my hostel by a local gang. 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. Imtiaz said he did not object to the poster itself but felt it should not be displayed on the front façade of the building. He requested that it be placed on a side wall instead. However, the students ignored his request and reportedly pasted the poster on the front wall again. Frustrated, Imtiaz removed it and shifted it to the side wall.He believed the matter had ended there. But a few days later, he realised it had not.'Run, they are coming for you'Recalling the incident, Imtiaz said, 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. They made me sit and took me to a government quarter-type place in the university area.”Once he reached the location, Imtiaz found himself standing before a man he described as the leader of the group, someone allegedly connected to a political organisation. There was a gang leader there who was associated with a political party. He asked me what had happened. I told him I had not torn the poster. I had asked them not to put it there, and when they still did, I simply removed it and placed it elsewhere because it spoiled the look of the building, Rockstar director further added.What happened next completely changed the situation.According to Imtiaz, the gang leader turned to one of his associates and asked whether the poster had actually been torn. The man reportedly replied that removing the poster and tearing it were essentially the same thing.That answer did not go down well.Imtiaz recalled, The gang leader got angry and said, ‘You told me he had torn the poster, and now you’re saying he only removed it?' They got into an argument, and the gang leader slapped his own man twice for lying to him. That’s how I got away. Lessons from Delhi UniversityLooking back, the filmmaker sees the episode as one of the many unusual experiences that shaped his college years. During a visit to Hindu College in 2017, Imtiaz had talked about his time at Delhi University, saying it exposed him to every kind of experience imaginable, good, bad, romantic, embarrassing and unforgettable.Those years, he has often said, helped him understand people and human relationships, themes that would later become central to many of his films.Today, Imtiaz Ali is regarded as one of Bollywood's most celebrated storytellers, known for films such as Jab We Met, Rockstar, Highway and Tamasha. But long before he became a successful filmmaker, he was a college student figuring out campus politics, unexpected confrontations and life lessons that he still remembers decades later.