Zoya Akhtar

Zoya Akhtar
Akhtar at the promotion of Talaash in 2012
Born	(1972-10-14) 14 October 1972 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Director, screenwriter
Years active	1999—present
Parents	Javed Akhtar (father) Honey Irani (mother)
Relatives	See Akhtar family

Zoya Akhtar (Born 14 October, 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. After completing a diploma in filmmaking from NYU, she assisted directors such as Mira Nair, Tony Gerber and Dev Benegal, before turning writer-director in her own right.

She has directed movies such as Luck by Chance (2009), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) and Sheila Ki Jawani, a segment of Bombay Talkies (2013). She has co-written Talaash (2012) alongside Reema Kagti. She then went on to direct Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), a film based on a dysfunctional Punjabi family.

Personal life

Zoya Akhtar was born to poet, lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar and screenwriter Honey Irani. Zoya's stepmother is Shabana Azmi. Zoya is the sister of Farhan Akhtar. She attended Maneckji Cooper and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Xavier's College, both in Mumbai. Later, she joined the New York University Film School to learn film production.

Her grandfather, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, a scholar of Islamic studies and theology, edited the first diwan of Mirza Ghalib on his request, and later became a figure during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in his native Khairabad.^[1]

She is great-granddaughter of renowned Urdu poet Muztar Khairabadi and granddaughter of Jan Nisar Akhtar.

Zoya grew up in an agnostic environment and along with her brother Farhan and father Javed Akhtar, she does not believe in any religion.^[2][3]

Career

Zoya started her career as co-director of a music video called Price of Bullets for a rock band called Pentagram. She has worked as a casting director for films including Dil Chahta Hai and Split Wide Open, and as an assistant director for her brother Farhan Akhtar's films Lakshya and Dil Chahta Hai. She then worked as an executive producer for her longtime partner Reema Kagti's Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., also produced by Excel Entertainment.^[4]

Zoya with Reema Kagti

Zoya made her directorial debut with Luck By Chance (2009), starring her brother Farhan Akhtar and Konkana Sen Sharma. It tells the story of a struggling actor who breaks into the industry. The film was well received by critics, despite not doing well at the box office.^[5][6]

In 2011, she directed Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, a multistarrer with Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin.^[7] It turned out to be a huge box office success and was well received by critics and won her the Filmfare Award for Best Director.

In 2013, Akhtar teamed up with Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee and Karan Johar for Bombay Talkies. It was made as a celebration of 100 years of Indian cinema.^[8][9]

She then went on to direct Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), a film based on a dysfunctional Punjabi family starring Anil Kapoor as an egotistical industrialist, Shefali Shah as his bitter socialite wife, and Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh as their children. The film also featured Anushka Sharma and Farhan Akhtar as love interests for Singh and Chopra respectively.^[10][11]

After Dil Dhadakne Do, Zoya Akhtar's next directorial venture is titled Gully Boy and will star Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt.^[12] Gully Boy movie is loosely based on the lives of Mumbai rappers Divine and Naezy^[13]. Apart from Gully Boy, she, along with Reema Kagti are working on a story for Amazon Prime web series. It is titled Made in Heaven and is about two wedding planners, and will be produced by Excel Entertainment.^[14][15]

Filmography

Awards

Other appearances

She appeared on the Valentine's Day charity show of Kaun Banega Crorepati along with her brother Farhan Akhtar.^[18] She also appeared in a very brief role as Rasa Devi's Rekha's Courtesan in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love.^[19]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zoya Akhtar.

• Zoya Akhtar on IMDb