"The journey of my life has given a lot of experiences and stories emerge from life only... Patna is my grandmother's place (nanighar) and I spent early eight years of my life in this city. And, as soon as I think of any story on the subject of Bihar, I will definitely make a film on it," he said.
The "Jab We Met" fame filmmaker was speaking here during an interactive session at the ongoing Patna Film Festival and went down memory lane, recounting his childhood, and his transformation from a "very poor student" to a "very good student".
Discussing the craft of cinema, the "Tamasha" director said, "A film is not science but governed by emotions. It is important to make an ending in films."
Ali was born in Jamshedpur spent his early years in Patna, so "I have affection for this place."
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"After going to Jamshedpur from Patna, I failed in Class IX there. I was a very poor student, but I worked very hard and became a very good student," said Ali, who graduated from Hindu College of Delhi University.
"'Katyar Kaljat Ghusali' (Marathi), 'Ramsingh Charlie, 'Listen Amaya', 'Kagaz ke Phool', Bimal Roy's 'Devdas' and 'Do Bigha Zameen' are among the film showcased during the festival," an official said.
The festival is being jointly organised by Bihar government's Art and Culture Department, Bihar State Film Development and Fiance Corporation, Directorate of Film Festival and National Film Archives of India.