October, 28, 2023
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Farhan Akhtar

Farhan Akhtar is the quintessential Bollywood multi-hyphenate, having worked as a producer-director-writer-actor-singer. Farhan was born in 1974 to acclaimed Indian cinema writer and poet Javed Akhtar and writer-director Honey Irani in an environment that promoted creativity and originality of thought.

As a result, he has become a maverick whose films represent freshly new content that effortlessly connects with moviegoers. Farhan and Ritesh Sidhwani, a friend who shared his enthusiasm for fine movies, formed Excel Entertainment in 1999, a production company that has become synonymous with filmmaking quality.

Farhan made his debut as a writer, director, and producer at the age of 26 with Dil Chahta Hai (2001), a coming-of-age film that has earned cult status. He was praised for his honest, ground-breaking writing and his ability to elicit mature performance.

Early and personal life

Farhan Akhtar was born in Mumbai, the second child of screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani. He has one elder sister, the writer–director Zoya Akhtar. He was very young when his parents divorced; his father married actress Shabana Azmi in 1984. His mother retained the family home in Bandra Bandstand and raised her children there. Akhtar studied at Maneckji Cooper School in Mumbai and then pursued a law degree at HR College, also in Mumbai.

Akhtar's father, a Muslim by birth and culture, is a socialist and has described himself as an atheist; Akhtar's mother, born into an Irani Zoroastrian family, is indifferent to religion, and was content to let her children grow up with no religion. Akhtar has stated that he is an atheist.

Relationships

Akhtar married Adhuna Bhabani in 2000, after being in a relationship with her for 3 years. They first met during the filming of his directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai, which also marked Bhabani's debut as a Bollywood hairstylist. The couple have two daughters named Shakya and Akira. On 21 January 2016, they announced their separation after 16 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized on 24 April 2017, with Bhabani having custody of their children. Akhtar started dating VJ Shibani Dandekar in 2018. On 19 February 2022, they got married in a non-religious ceremony at his Khandala farmhouse.

Career

Akhtar worked as an apprentice in film distribution and direction for Yash Chopra's Lamhe (1991) when he was 17 years old and later moved to an advertisement production house named "Script Shop" to spend an approximate 3 years there. He also assisted Pankaj Parashar as a director in Himalay Putra (1997) before launching himself into direction and writing.

Movies As a Director

Akhtar made his writing and directorial debut with the critically acclaimed coming-of-age comedy-drama Dil Chahta Hai (2001), produced by Excel Entertainment, a production company he established along with Ritesh Sidhwani in 1999. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for 2002, in addition to the Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics).
Akhtar's next project was the war drama Lakshya (2004), a film about an aimless youngster finally setting a goal for himself, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta.
In 2006, Akhtar directed, produced and wrote the screenplay of Don starring Shah Rukh Khan in the title role alongside Priyanka Chopra, a remake of Don (1978), starring Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman. The character of Don became iconic and popular.
In 2007, Akhtar produced the film Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., directed by debutant Reema Kagti and starring Abhay Deol, Minissha Lamba, Shabana Azmi and Boman Irani.
In 2012, Akhtar produced and wrote the script of the neo-noir thriller Talaash: The Answer Lies Within. His production work was followed by the comedy films Fukrey (2013), Bangistan (2015) and Fukrey Returns (2017), the time-travel romance Baar Baar Dekho (2016) and the action film Raees (2017).

Acting and singing

In 2008, Akhtar made his solo acting and singing debut in the musical drama Rock On!!, for which he wrote the script and also produced. The film was directed by Abhishek Kapoor, and co-starred Prachi Desai, Arjun Rampal and Purab Kohli.
Akhtar acted in, and produced his sister Zoya's directorial and written debut Luck By Chance, alongside Konkona Sen Sharma in the lead role. He was cast in the film after being deemed as a "perfect choice" for it.
Akhtar acted in, and produced his next film Karthik Calling Karthik (2010), a psychological thriller directed by Vijay Lalwani. He played Karthik, an introvert, paired opposite Deepika Padukone for the first time. Preparation for the role involved working on the Rubik's Cube, which he learnt from the director.
Akhtar produced and appeared as one of the three leads in his sister, Zoya Akhtar's coming-of-age film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara along with Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin. He was also credited as the scriptwriter for the film. He was the first actor to be cast in the film, and described his role as a "fun character" and a "guy who for the longest time takes nothing seriously". It also became one of the highest grossing Bollywood films overseas, earning around US$7.25 million. It won two National Awards for Best Choreography and Best Audiography.
In 2015, Akhtar starred in his sister Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do, an ensemble family comedy-drama starring Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma. The film and his performance received critical acclaim, and it proved to be a commercial success at the box office.
Akhtar received training for boxing for his next release Toofan, a sports drama, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, which premiered on 21 May 2021 on Amazon Prime Video. Bollywood Bubble gave the film 4 stars saying the film interlaces love and sport while throwing a flurry of punches on bigotry.

Non-film work

Akhtar appeared as one of the nine judges in the beauty pageant Femina Miss India (2002). He was the judge on the first season of the dance-reality show Nach Baliye (2005). He hosted a TV show on NDTV Imagine, called Oye! It's Friday! in the same year. He has endorsed several brands as a part of his career, especially after the release of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. These include Hindustan Unilever's water purifier product titled Pureit, Chivas Regal, Britannia Nutri Choice Biscuits, IndusInd Bank, Dulux Paint, Titan Industries and Crocin+2.

Men Against Rape and Discrimination, or MARD, is a social campaign launched by Akhtar. The idea came to him when, in August 2012, Pallavi Purkayastha, a lawyer by profession, was sexually assaulted and then killed by her residence's watchman.

He is the board member of Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image.

Controversies

Toofan Controversy

There was a considerable call to boycott the film due to lead actor Farhan Akhtar's previous comments about the Citizenship Amendment Act. And now, a section of individuals on the internet, mainly Twitter, are demanding for it to be boycotted because the video purportedly encourages 'Love Jihad'. It all started when the names of the main characters were made public. In 'Toofaan,' Akhtar plays Aziz Ali, who falls in love with a character named Pooja Shah (played by Mrunal Thakur)

Awards

Farhan Akhtar has won the Filmfare Awards 2002 Critics Award for Best Film Dil Chahta Hai
Farhan Akhtar has won 2014 Best Actor Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Farhan Akhtar has won 2012 Best Supporting Actor Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Farhan Akhtar has won 2002 Best Screenplay Dil Chahta Hai
Farhan Akhtar has won 2012 Best Dialogue Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Farhan Akhtar has won IIFA 2014 Best Performance In A Leading Role (Male) Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Farhan Akhtar has won 2009 Best Male Debutant Star Rock On!!
Farhan Akhtar won 2002 Best Choreography Dil Chahta Hai
Farhan Akhtar won the 2002 Best Screenplay Dil Chahta Hai