Farhan Akhtar

Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar at a promotional event forKarthik Calling Karthik.
Born	9 January 1974 (age 38) Mumbai, India
Occupation	Actor, Director, Producer,Playback Singer, Lyricist, Screenwriter, Television host
Years active	1998—present
Spouse	Adhuna Akhtar

Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, playback singer, lyricist and television host based in Bollywood He is the son of Javed Akhtar andHoney Irani and the younger brother of Zoya Akhtar. Akhtar has won two National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards for his work in Indian films.

Akhtar has made his directorial debut in 2001 with Dil Chahta Hai, which received praise from critics for portraying contemporary Indian youth as cosmopolitan and urban and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. He has also started his acting career 7 years later with Rock On!! (2008) which also won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Personal life and background

Farhan Akhtar was born on 9 January 1974 in Mumbai to screenwriters, Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani. He has been exposed to the film industry ever since his childhood. When he was 17 years old, he worked as an apprentice in cinematography and direction. He later shifted to an advertisement production house named "Script Shop" and spent an approximate 3 years there. Speaking about the influence of his parents on his childhood, he stated that "My parents have never pressurised me or Zoya. They have never poked any of us, saying your treatment is not correct or anything. They are happy that we have independently made a name for ourselves and are passionate about our work." His parents divorced during his early days, and his father married Shabana Azmi in 1984. When he was 17, he joined as an assistant to Yash Chopra for Lamhe (1991).

He is also the grandson of Urdu poet Jan Nisar Akhtar and the cousin of Bollywood film director and dance choreographer Farah Khan, and of Sajid Khan. Currently married to Adhuna Akhtar, he has two children named Shakya and Akira.

[edit]Career

Farhan made his writing and directorial debut at the age of 27 in Bollywood with the critically-acclaimed film Dil Chahta Hai (2001), produced by Excel Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., a production company he established along with Ritesh Sidhwaniin 1999. He called it a "turning point" in his career. The film told the story of three friends who graduate from college and deal with issues of love and friendship. Ziya Us Salam of The Hindu wrote: "In his maiden venture, Javed Akhtar's son shows enough glimpses of his pedigree to indicate that promise will attain fulfilment sooner than later. " Beth Watkins of the Wall Street Journal felt that "At the center of the most mixed-up romance, Farhan Akhtar has cycled us back to the essential Bollywood principle of virtuously suffering for your true love, at the same time quietly whispering “even if your family and friends don’t agree. ”" The project resulted in crediting Akhtar for starting a "new wave" in Indian cinema after its release. It earned several nominations at various award shows and won the year's National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Despite that, the film did not do well at the box office by taking up a "below average" opening and proceeded to become an "average" grosser. The film was screened at the International Film Festival of India, the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Austin Film Festival.

Akhtar then moved onto his next project, Lakshya (2004), a film about an aimless youngster finally setting a goal for himself, starring Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta. It was shot in Ladakh, Dehra Dun and Mumbai and marked the beginning of the collaborations between Farhan and Hrithik. Akhtar, who is known for shooting in different places for his films, claimed that the film's five-month shooting in Ladakh had completely changed him.To emphasize the point, he stated that "I think the person I was before I went to Ladakh to shoot, and what I was when I came back - to me are completely two different people, I wasn't the same." He also believed that travelling for the film was "a learning experience." The theme of the film, as stated by Akhtar, was about finding oneself. He also believed that if the same characters and situation were set elsewhere, the main core of the story would remain the same as the film was not about war. The film failed to make a mark at the box office and became a commercial failure. Parul Gupta of The Times of India gave it a negative review and explained that "It's hard to reconcile to such triviality when it comes from Farhan Akhtar, considered the ultimate symbol of cool in Hindi filmdom." On the contrary, Manish Gajjar from BBC wrote, in his positive review, "Young Farhan Akhtar, proves yet again that he is one of the finiest directors Bollywood has to date. He has paid full attention to the script and the technical aspects, giving rise to a polished product". Akhtar was nominated for the Filmfare Best Director Award.

Meanwhile, Akhtar also wrote the English lyrics of Gurinder Chadha's Hollywood film, Bride and Prejudice (2004) along with his sister, Zoya Akhtar after being recommended by his father. In an interview, he said that he was "comfortable" in writing the English lyrics for the project.^[25] The music for the film was composed by Anu Malik and consisted of a mixture of Hindi songs, West side story, Fiddler on the Roof and Grease.

In 2006, Farhan directed, produced and wrote the screenplay a remake of the 1978 Amitabh Bachchan film, Don titled Don: The Chase Begins Again which starred Shahrukh Khan in the title role. It marked Akhtar's first project holding the status of a remake and credited him for a trend of remakes in Bollywood. However, he said that he did not mean to be a "torchbearer of the remake brigade", while the character of "Don" became iconic in his career. He also explained that the idea of a remake arose out of his "fan" excitement. It became widely known for its dialogues. The film released on 20 October 2006. It was declared as a "hit" at the box office, grossing around

105 crore (US$20.95 million)worldwide.However, critics predominantly condemned Akhtar's direction and screenplay, despite giving the film mixed reviews. Sukanya Verma of Rediff wrote "The basic blunder Farhan commits is to add con elements in an on-the-run thriller in a manner so bizarre that it makes you scream in condemnation. What a suicidal move!" Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama said "Farhan has climbed the ladder as far as craftsmanship is concerned [every frame is well decorated and makes a spellbinding impact], but, despite a readymade classic at his disposal, the storyteller just doesn't get it right this time."

In 2007, Farhan produced the film Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., directed by debutant Reema Kagti and starring Abhay Deol, Minissha Lamba, Shabana Azmi and Boman Irani. The music for the film was composed by Vishal-Shekhar, marking their first collaboration with him. The film was financed and funded by Exim Bank. This was also the first time Excel Entertainment made a film with a director other than Farhan. The story of the film revolved around six couples who went to Goa on a honeymoon. The film opened up on 23 February and received mixed reviews from critics, and ended up with an average box office result.

In the same year, Farhan directed Positive, a film produced by Shernaz Italia and Frenzy Kodaiji, starring Boman Irani and Shabana Azmi. It was a documentary running for 12 minutes. Dealing with a family's attitude towards a person suffering from HIV-AIDS, the film was shot in Mumbai and aimed at creating awareness about the problem. It also introduced Arjun Mathur in the film industry. Speaking about the purpose of the project, Farhan stated that "Just as a social stigma, many people believe that an HIV patient should be isolated. They also have certain misconceptions about dealing with the disease. And since India has a lot of joint families; it becomes very important for them to understand the value of support to the person who has acquired this disease. This is exactly what Positive talks about." The film had background score composed by Ram Sampath but no soundtrack. It was part of 'AIDS JaaGo' ('AIDS Awake'), a series of four short films, directed by Mira Nair, Santosh Sivan, Vishal Bhardwaj and himself, in a joint initiative of Mira Nair's Mirabai Films and voluntary organisations Avahan and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.The film stared Boman Irani,Shabana Azmi and a debutant actor, Arjun Mathur.

In 2008, Akhtar made his acting and singing debut in a social film titled Rock On!!, which he also produced and wrote the dialogues for. The film was directed by Abhishek Kapoor. Prachi Desai, Arjun Rampal and Purab Kohli co-starred along with him. He had been learning the guitar for eight years and was well-versed with it. The role played by him was Aditya, the main member of a rock band and he sang five songs for the soundtrack album. The film was highly acclaimed by critics and received positive reviews upon release. Gaurav Malani of The Economic Times wrote that "Rock On seems to be clearly designed by Farhan Akhar as his own acting debut and he doesn't let himself down. Lending voice to all his songs helps him to get into his character with effortless ease. One could certainly overlook the lisp in his dialogue delivery." Manish Gajjar of BBC wrote of his performance: "Director-turned-actor, Farhan Aktar surprises all with his superb, flawless performance, transforming from a hippy-style lead-singer to a subdued, dismal workaholic banker." Farhan received several accolades for his debut performance, including the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award, IIFA Star Debut Award and the Star Screen Award for Most Promising Male Newcomer. The film, in addition won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and the Filmfare Best Story Award. However, it did not create an impact at the box office and turned out to be an average grosser.

Farhan acted in and produced his sister Zoya's directorial and written debut, Luck By Chance which also had Hrithik Roshan and Konkona Sen Sharma in the lead roles. He was cast in the film after being deemed as a "perfect choice" for it. The film tells the story of a struggling actor who arrives in Mumbai to become a film star. It was released on 30 January 2009.Though failing to do well at the box office and being declared as a "flop", the film received generally positive reviews from critics. Neil Genzlinger from The New York Times said: "It is Mr. Akhtar whose understated performance holds together this far-ranging, cameo-filled film. He manages to remain sympathetic even while wreaking romantic havoc."Rajeev Masand noted: "Farhan Akhtar delivers a simple-enough likeable performance that is just what the film required - no showy flourishes, no loud outbursts, just a straight off spontaneous act that works like a dream."

Akhtar acted in, and produced his next film, Karthik Calling Karthik, a romantic thriller directed by Vijay Lalwani. He played Karthik, an introvert character, starring alongside Deepika Padukone for the first time. Preparation for the role involved solving the Rubik's cube, which he learnt through the director. The film received mixed reviews and praise for Akhtar's acting from critics, with Sukanya Verma highlighting that "He conveys the anxiety, simplicity and frailty of Karthik even when the script isn't doing it for him. Perhaps it's his innate filmmaker instinct."

Farhan's first project in 2011 was the drama thriller Game, directed by Abhinay Deo. The lead cast consisted of Abhishek Bachchan, Kangna Ranaut, Boman Irani and Jimmy Shergill. Farhan wrote the dialogues and produced the venture.The film received highly negative reviews after release, with critics panning almost all the aspects of it. At the box office, it had a poor opening, and later resulted in giving losses for the distributors, due to a heavily negative word-of-mouth. It was described as a "washout" by trade analysts.

Akhtar (extreme right) at a promotional event for Don 2 in Mumbai.

He first appeared as one of the three leads in his sister, Zoya Akhtar's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara along with Hrithik Roshan and Abhay Deol. He was also credited as the dialogue writer for the film. It was a major commercial success, grossing over

1.53 billion worldwide and was almost unanimously praised by critics. His performance as Imraan, a copy writer who works for an advertising firm in Delhi who has never met his biological father and goes to Spain to find him was favourably received by critics and eventually won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also received the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue for his work in the film.

Later that year, he wrote, produced and directed Don 2, a sequel to his 2006 film Don: The Chase Begins Again. The film marked Akhtar's return to direction after a gap of nearly 5 years. In an interview with DNA India, Akhtar revealed that he decided to make the sequel as it "had a lot to offer". Speaking about it, he said : "I am wary of sequels having to be made. With Don 2 I could finally make an action thriller the way I wanted to. Good story, classic action and simple plot which has one goal and work towards it effectively and dramatically." The film was a major success in India and it went on to become the year's highest-grossing Bollywood production abroad with a worldwide gross of more than

2.1 billion. It earned him another nomination for Best Director at the Filmfare ceremony.

Akhtar also made his singing debut in Rock On!!, singing in most of the film's songs. He was supposed to sing a song for Blue, which had music by A. R. Rahman. However this could not happen as Akhtar was shooting for Kartik Calling Karthik then and could not find the time.^{[citation needed]}

He has appeared as a judge on a few shows on television, including the first season of the dance-reality show, Nach Baliye (2005), and the beauty pageant, Femina Miss India (in 2002). He also hosted a TV show on NDTV Imagine, called Oye! It's Friday!.

Filmography

Director/Writer

Year	Film	Notes
1998	Breathless	Music video for the single "Breathless" Co-directed by Zoya Akhtar
2001	Dil Chahta Hai	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Director
2004	Lakshya	Nominated — Filmfare Award for Best Director
2006	Don: The Chase Begins Again	A Remake of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer 1978 Action thriller Don
2007	Positive	Short film
2011	Don 2	Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Director

Producer

Year	Film	Director	Notes
2006	Don: The Chase Begins Again	Himself	Nominated — Filmfare Award for Best Movie
2007	Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.	Reema Kagti
2008	Rock On!!	Abhishek Kapoor	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi Nominated — Filmfare Award for Best Movie
2009	Luck By Chance	Zoya Akhtar
2010	Karthik Calling Karthik	Vijay Lalwani
2011	Game	Abhinay Deo
2011	Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara	Zoya Akhtar	Filmfare Award for Best Movie shared with Ritesh Sidhwani & Zoya Akhtar
2011	Don 2: The King is Back	Himself	Nominated — Filmfare Award for Best Movie
2012	Talaash	Reema Kagti

Actor

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2008	The Fakir of Venice	Adi Contractor
2008	Rock On!!	Aditya Shroff	Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut
2009	Luck By Chance	Vikram Jaisingh
2010	Karthik Calling Karthik	Karthik Narayan
2011	Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara	Imraan	Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
2012	Bhaag Milkha Bhaag	Milkha Singh	Filming

Playback Singer

Year	Film	Song
2008	Rock On!!
		"Socha Hai"
		"Pichle Saat Dinon Mein"
		"Rock On!!!"
		"Tum Ho Toh"
		"Sinbad The Sailor"
2011	Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
		"Señorita"
		"Toh Zinda Ho Tum"
		"Señorita" (Remix)