Anurag Kashyap’s Daughter Aaliyah and Imtiaz Ali’s Daughter Ida Share ‘Real Kidnap Story’: ‘Nani Was Watching…

Anurag Kashyap’s daughter, Aaliyah Kashyap, and Imtiaz Ali’s daughter, Ida Ali, have been close friends since childhood. For those who may not know, Aaliyah and Ida lived in the same building until they were seven, attended the same school, and later went to the same college in the US. Their deep bond is filled with many fascinating and unknown memories from their childhood.
Aaliyah Kashyap and Ida Ali Share a Traumatic Incident
Recently, Aaliyah and Ida opened up about a terrifying incident from their childhood on Aaliyah’s new podcast series, “Young, Dumb & Anxious.” In one of the episodes, Aaliyah invited Ida to recall some of their old memories. They narrated a particularly traumatic event that occurred when their parents went out together, leaving the girls under the care of Aaliyah’s maternal grandmother and their house help. Aaliyah narrated, “My nani was watching us, and so was our didi, who was working in our house at the time.”
A still of Ida Ali and Aaliyah Kashyap from the podcast. (Picture credit: X)
Ida initially prompted Aaliyah to share the ‘real kidnap story.’ Aaliyah clarified that it wasn’t technically a kidnapping since they were at home, but rather a hostage situation. She described how their house help held them hostage by taping their mouths and tying their hands to chairs while attempting to rob the house. The girls were terrified, screaming and freaking out. Thankfully, Aaliyah’s mother returned home within 15-20 minutes, having forgotten something. She quickly called for help, and the situation was resolved.
Turning Trauma into Laughter
Despite the traumatic nature of the incident, Ida mentioned that the experience eventually turned into a source of laughter because they went through it together. Recalling the event, both Aaliyah and Ida laughed, emphasizing how the shared experience strengthened their bond. Aaliyah noted, “It was obviously traumatic, but it would have been a lot more traumatic if we had gone through that alone.”
When Imtiaz Ali Had to Halt Tamasha’s Shoot Because His Daughter Got Lost
In another episode on Aaliyah’s YouTube channel, the friends reminisced about a time when Ida’s father, Imtiaz Ali, had to halt the shoot of Tamasha because the girls got lost and unreachable. The shoot was happening in Corsica, and Aaliyah and Ida had wandered off farther than intended. They ended up at a restaurant without any phones. When the bill came, they realized they didn’t have enough money. Ida ran back to get more, only to find that production had stopped, and everyone was looking for them. Ida recalled, “When the bill came, it was more than what we had expected. It was like one euro or something more than what we had. So I ran all the way back. Only then did I realize that they had stopped production and were looking for us while I was looking for one euro”
The incident highlighted the close-knit nature of their families and the lasting friendship between Aaliyah and Ida, who consider themselves more like sisters than best friends.