His paternal grandfather, Raja Syed Sajid Husain Ali, was the former ruling prince of the principality of Kotwara in Awadh of pre-independence India. Ali is the nephew of environmental educator Kartikeya Sarabhai and the Indian classical dancer Mallika Sarabhai.[3][4]
Career
Shaad Ali started his career as an assistant director to Mani Ratnam, and assisted him on the film Dil Se.. (1998).
His fourth directorial venture was Kill Dil which was released on 14 November 2014. The movie received average reviews from critics and got lukewarm response at the Box office.[7][8]
He then directed the movie Ok Jaanu which released on 13 January 2017. It is a remake of Mani Ratnam's Tamil movie O Kadhal Kanmani. This film reunited him with composer A. R. Rahman after Saathiya (2002), after Rahman turned down Bunty Aur Babli citing a busy schedule.
Ali married Shazmeen Hussain, daughter of conceptual artist Rummana Hussain and businessman Ishaat Hussain, in 2006. The couple divorced in 2011.[9][10] He briefly dated Pooja Shetty, daughter of Adlabs founder Manmohan Shetty. In 2013, he married Aarti Patkar.[11]