Archive · 28 Aug 2026
Ida Ali Pursues Independent Filmmaking Beyond Her Famous Surname
Ida Ali wants to become a filmmaker in her own way.
She is the daughter of filmmaker Imtiaz Ali, who told her stories while she was growing up.
Those stories helped her discover that she wanted to tell stories too.
Ida recently made two short films with her friend Kareema Barry.
The films are called Sink In and Gul.
Ida does not want people to help her only because of her family name.
She wants people to work with her because they truly believe in her projects.
She also thinks films can stay in people’s minds longer than popular social-media videos.
Ida Ali recently directed the short films Sink In and Gul with Kareema Barry.
She said she wants to make films independently rather than rely on industry favours.
Ida began visualising stories as films in her mid-teens and made her first short at 15 or 16.
She and Barry run a Hindi-film podcast and have launched Blue Curtain Films.
Ida believes lasting audience connections matter more than social-media view counts.
- Who
- Ida Ali and Kareema Barry, with filmmaking influence from Ida’s father, Imtiaz Ali.
- What
- Ida Ali discussed her independent filmmaking ambitions after directing Sink In and Gul.
- When
- Recently; the article says the second short was released within a month of the first.
- Where
- The interviews and projects are discussed in the context of the Hindi-film industry; no specific production location is stated.
- Why
- Ida wants to tell her own stories independently and have collaborators join because they believe in the work, not because of her surname.
- Short films
- Sink In and Gul
- Collaborator
- Kareema Barry
- Production company
- Blue Curtain Films
- Podcast
- Ida Ali and Kareema Barry run a Hindi-film podcast that has been operating for about a year.
- First short film
- Ida made her first short at age 15 or 16.
- Filmmaking approach
- She wants to work independently and avoid favours based on her family connections.
- Audience view
- She prioritises lasting audience connections over social-media view counts.