Farhan Akhtar

Early life and family

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. His ancestors belonged to Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. 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 in India, is indifferent to religion, and was content to let her children grow up with no religion. Akhtar has stated that he is an atheist.

Akhtar's family hails from Khairabad in the Avadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, and he comes from a long lineage of Urdu poets. He is the grandson of Urdu poet Jan Nisar Akhtar and great-grandson of Urdu poet Muztar Khairabadi. On his mother's side, Akhtar is the nephew of the child actress Daisy Irani and the first cousin of choreographer & director Farah Khan and film director Sajid Khan.

Personal life

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 has two daughters named Shakya and Akira. On 21 January 2016, they announced their separation after 16 years of marriage. Their divorce was finalised on 24 April 2017, with Bhabani having custody of their children.

Akhtar started dating video jockey 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.

Directing, writing and producing

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. It was shot over a period of three months in Sydney, Goa and Mumbai. Due to its acclaim, he called it a "turning point" in his career. The film dealt with the lives of westernised urban youth in Mumbai. Akhtar had written the script based on his trips to Goa and New York City, as well as a narration of a story outline by a friend of his, Kassim Jagmagia, who would eventually become a co-producer at Excel Entertainment in the future. It received international critical acclaim and attained an iconic status, with Akhtar receiving credit for starting a "new wave" in Indian cinema. Critic Ziya Us Salam praised Akhtar's direction and commented for The Hindu: "In his maiden venture, Javed Akhtar's son shows enough glimpses of his pedigree to indicate that promise will attain fulfilment sooner than later." Various award shows conferred accolades on the film and nominated it for several categories. 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). It was also screened at the International Film Festival of India, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and the Austin Film Festival. In the same year, he and his sister Zoya Akhtar assisted their father in writing the English lyrics of a song in Lagaan, for which the soundtrack was scored by A. R. Rahman.

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. It was shot in Ladakh, Dehra Dun and Mumbai, and marked the beginning of the collaborations between Akhtar and Roshan. He had to research the army before writing the script and directing the venture. 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, as it had been reported. Post-release, 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 finest directors Bollywood has to date. He has paid full attention to the script and the technical aspects, giving rise to a polished product". Over the years, the film became a cult classic and was praised to be one of the best movies ever made. 20 years after Lakshya was released, Akhtar, in an interview, stated that the movie made a huge impact in motivating youth across India to join the Indian Army.

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. As he had been learning guitar ever since the start of his directing career, he had been well-versed with it and used it for the film. He played the role of Aditya, the lead singer of the rock band "Magik". He sang five songs for the soundtrack album. Rock On!! received critical acclaim upon release. Gaurav Malani of The Economic Times wrote that the film seemed 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." Akhtar received several accolades for his debut performance. The film, in addition won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. However, it did not create an impact at the box office and turned out to be an "average" grosser.

After refusing an offer to sing a song for A. R. Rahman's album Blue (2009), 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. The story of the film revolved around a struggling actor who arrives in Mumbai to become a movie star. It was released on 30 January 2009. Though failing to do well at the box office and being declared a "flop", the film received widespread critical acclaim. 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."

Following Luck By Chance, Akhtar acted in a film titled The Fakir of Venice, which was initially scheduled to release before Rock On!! and was supposed to be his acting debut. Due to several delays, it was premiered at the 2009 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. It was written and directed by Anand Surapur, and accepted by Akhtar after he described its script as "very powerful", while emphasising that it "touches upon weaknesses and confusions in all human beings". Before release, it premiered at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, and the Venice Film Festival at the ArcLight Hollywood. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film and felt that "Akhtar, a producer, director and writer making his film debut here as an actor, is talented and handsome enough – and with looks that could translate into any number of ethnicities – to have a huge career ahead of him."

Other 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 (lit. 'Man'), 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. He has also been the Regional UN Women Ambassador for South Asia since 2016.

In 2023, Farhan received the Kamla Bhasin Award for his efforts in promoting gender equality in South Asia.

Filmography

Discography

2019 – Echoes Album (Songs from the album)