Imtiaz Ali’s Socha Na Tha (2005) is remembered as the romantic comedy that introduced Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia to Hindi film audiences. At Celebrate Cinema 2026, the director revealed how close that debut came to never reaching cinemas—and the unlikely rescuer who stepped in.
The release that nearly didn’t happen
Speaking at Whistling Woods International, Imtiaz Ali told the media that Socha Na Tha was stuck because of issues involving its producers. He had no idea at the time that Subhash Ghai’s wife, Mukta Ghai, was part of the CBFC’s examining committee and saw the film during its censor screening.
She liked it enough to tell Subhash Ghai to watch it. He arranged a screening and felt the same way.
A buyer without a meeting
What followed, Imtiaz said, was an act of help from a senior filmmaker he had never met. Subhash Ghai bought the film at a price higher than its actual value and acquired the negative rights solely to ensure that Socha Na Tha got a theatrical release.
‘This is how people show kindness in our industry,’ Imtiaz Ali said at the session.
The detail matters because buying negative rights gave Ghai control of the film’s release path. For a debut director stuck behind a producer dispute, that purchase was the difference between a shelf and a screen.
- Socha Na Tha (2005): Imtiaz Ali’s directorial debut, starring Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia.
- The block: producer issues kept the finished film from releasing.
- The rescue: Subhash Ghai acquired the negative rights above actual value to push it into theatres.
- The twist: Imtiaz later backed out of a film with Ghai, leaving him furious for a while.
The signing that caused a rift
Subhash Ghai then signed Imtiaz Ali for a film, but it could not be made because Imtiaz backed out. He recalled telling him, ‘Sorry sir, main film nahin kar paunga.’ Ghai was angry for some time, and Imtiaz said he eventually found a way to pacify him when they were in Mauritius.
At the session, Imtiaz was initially reluctant to tell the story, but Ghai urged him on. The recollection drew laughs from those present, even as it covered a brief rupture.
For Hindi cinema followers, the anecdote adds a layer to Socha Na Tha’s legacy. It was not simply a quiet romantic comedy that found its audience; it was a film that needed a senior filmmaker’s intervention simply to exist in public. That makes it a rewatch with a small piece of Bollywood business attached.
Source: Bollywood Hungama