We do not envy Imtiaz Ali his job. After being hailed as the next best thing to have happened to Hindi films post the fresh and fantastic Jab We Met, and a handful of other meaningful films, he seems to have lost the plot of late. The debacle that was his last directorial, Jab Harry Met Sejal, starring no less than Shah Rukh Khan, has sort of sealed the matter: Imtiaz Ali needs to find his mojo asap, if he is to continue making the films he wants to and, more importantly, with the stars he desires.

So while news comes in that he wishes to work again with his Rockstar and Tamasha hero, Ranbir Kapoor, RK is evidently in no rush to come on board. Battling a slew of bad film choices, RK himself needs to find his footing at the box office, and a whimsical love story of the kind Imtiaz invariably ends up making, might not feature very high on his list of must-do films for now.

Alia Bhatt has been touted as the female lead that Imtiaz hopes to cast opposite Ranbir. He did give her Highway, which had won her accolades as a performer. But will Alia be as open and forthcoming this time around? There are serious doubts on that score. What’s more, Ranbir and Alia will probably also want to wait and see how their pairing will be received in Ayan Mukerji’s Dragon.

Imtiaz, as expected, had taken the lukewarm response to Jab Harry Met Sejal rather philosophically. “I think a lot of questions have been asked (about response to the film)...the result was a little different from what everybody had expected, so that was there. So happy and (not happy) nothing like that, life goes on, you have to let the film go and start with another. And that is what I am doing right now.”

A wonderful attitude. Now if only his dream pair shared his thinking!