Imtiaz Ali is on cloud nine with the response his road drama `Highway` received at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.
`Highway`, starring Alia Bhatt and RandeepHooda in the lead, premiered in the panorama section of the prestigious festival on February 13, a week ahead of its world release this Friday.
The festival concluded last night.
“I have never been invited to a film festival before. I thought this would not be the right platform to showcase my film because the audience were European mostly.
But it was heartwarming to see that despite not knowing the language, they related to the movie`s story line. It felt great to be applauded by Berlin audience,” Imtiaz said
Imtiaz, 42, said while he was nervous about the screening and the audience`s response, his leading lady Alia was concerned about his red carpet outing.
The premiere was also attended by music composer A R Rahman and actor RandeepHooda.
“Alia was concerned about what I was going to wear. She took me to shopping and made sure that I buy a new pair of jeans and shoes. I bought it and teamed it up with a band gala,” Imtiaz said.
The director said during their shopping trip to a mall, he was surprised to see that all the three screenings of `Highway` were housefull.