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Zoya Akhtar | |
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.jpg) Akhtar at the2024 TIFF Film Festival | |
| Born | (1972-10-14)14 October 1972 (age 53) Mumbai,Maharashtra, India |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1996–present |
| Organisation | Tiger Baby Films |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Akhtar family |
Zoya Akhtar (born 14 October 1972) is an Indian director, producer and screenwriter who works inHindi films and series. Born toJaved Akhtar andHoney Irani, she completed a diploma in filmmaking fromNYU and assisted directorsMira Nair,Tony Gerber andDev Benegal, before becoming a writer and director. She is the recipient of several accolades, including fourFilmfare Awards.[1] Akhtar and frequent collaboratorReema Kagti founded the production companyTiger Baby Films in 2015.
Akhtar made her directorial debut with the dramaLuck by Chance (2009), winning theFilmfare Award for Best Debut Director. She achieved her breakthrough with the comedy-dramaZindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), which won her theFilmfare Award for Best Director. She has since directed the comedy-dramaDil Dhadakne Do (2015), segments in the anthology filmsLust Stories (2018) andGhost Stories (2020), and the musical dramaGully Boy (2019), which won her a second Filmfare Award for Best Director. She has also worked on the streaming drama seriesMade in Heaven (2019–2023) and the crime thriller seriesDahaad (2023).
Akhtar was born to poet, lyricist and screenwriterJaved Akhtar and screenwriterHoney Irani. Akhtar's stepmother is actressShabana Azmi.[2]
Her great-grandfather,Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, a scholar of Islamic studies and theology, edited the firstdiwan ofMirza Ghalib on his request and later became a figure during theIndian Rebellion of 1857 in his nativeKhairabad.[3]
Akhtar grew up in an atheist environment and along with her brother Farhan and father Javed, and does not believe in any religion.[4][5]
Akhtar started her career as the co-director of a music video calledPrice of Bullets for a rock band calledPentagram. She has worked as acasting director for films including the dramaSplit Wide Open (1999) and the ensemble coming-of-age comedy-dramaDil Chahta Hai (2001), and as anassistant director for her brotherFarhan Akhtar's filmsDil Chahta Hai and the coming-of-age war dramaLakshya (2004). She then worked as anexecutive producer for her longtime friend and associateReema Kagti's comedy-dramaHoneymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), also produced byExcel Entertainment.[6]
Akhtar made her directorial debut with the dramaLuck By Chance (2009), starring her brother Farhan andKonkona Sen Sharma in lead roles. The film tells the story of a struggling actor who breaks into the industry. It opened to widespread critical acclaim, with high praise directed towards its novel concept, story, screenplay and dialogues; however, the film had an underwhelming performance at the box-office.[7][8][9] It earned Akhtar the inauguralFilmfare Award for Best Debut Director, tying for the award withAyan Mukerji forWake Up Sid.
In 2011, she achieved her breakthrough with the coming-of-age comedy-dramaZindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which stars anensemble cast ofHrithik Roshan,Farhan Akhtar,Abhay Deol,Katrina Kaif andKalki Koechlin in lead roles.[10] The film opened to widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its novel concept, storyline and setting. It emerged as a major commercial success at the box-office, grossing ₹1.53 billion (US$19 million) worldwide, ranking as thefifth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.[11]Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara earned Akhtar her firstFilmfare Award for Best Director.
The following year, she and Kagti co-wrote the psychological crime thrillerTalaash: The Answer Lies Within (2012), starring an ensemble cast ofAamir Khan,Kareena Kapoor Khan,Rani Mukerji,Nawazuddin Siddiqui,Rajkummar Rao andShernaz Patel in lead roles. The film received highly positive reviews upon release and emerged as a commercial success at the box-office.[12]
In 2013, Akhtar teamed up withAnurag Kashyap,Dibakar Banerjee andKaran Johar for the anthology filmBombay Talkies. It was made as a celebration of 100 years ofIndian cinema.[13][14] Her segment titledSheila Ki Jawaani, told the story of a 12-year-old child who idolised Hindi film actress Katrina Kaif and aspires to be a Bollywood dancer, earned her positive reviews from critics. However, the film emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office.[15]
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Akhtar next directed the family comedy-dramaDil Dhadakne Do (2015), which told the story of a dysfunctional Punjabi family. The film stars anensemble cast, withAnil Kapoor as an egotistical industrialist,Shefali Shah as his bitter socialite-wife, andPriyanka Chopra andRanveer Singh as their children. The film also featuresAnushka Sharma andFarhan Akhtar as love interests of Singh and Chopra.[16][17] The film opened to positive reviews from critics, and emerged as a commercial success at the box-office, grossing ₹1.44 billion (US$18 million) worldwide, ranking as theninth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.[18]
The same year, Akhtar, along withReema Kagti, foundedTiger Baby Films, an Indian film production company.
In 2018, she again teamed up with Kashyap, Banerjee and Johar for the anthology filmLust Stories, the sequel toBombay Talkies, which premiered onNetflix in June 2018. Her segment in the film, about the sexual relationship between a bachelor (Neil Bhoopalam) and his maid (Bhumi Pednekar), received positive reviews.
In 2019, Akhtar directed the musical dramaGully Boy starringRanveer Singh andAlia Bhatt in lead roles.[19] The film was loosely based on the lives of Mumbai rappersNaezy andDivine.[20] It received positive reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a commercial success at the box-office, grossing ₹2.38 billion (US$33.8 million) worldwide, ranking as theninth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.[21] At the65th Filmfare Awards,Gully Boy won a record 13Filmfare Awards, the most awards for a single film in a year, breaking the previous record ofBlack (2005) with 11 wins. The film won Akhtar (along with Kagti) theFilmfare Award for Best Screenplay, in addition to her second Filmfare Award for Best Director, thus making her the only female director to win the award twice.
The same year, Akhtar and Kagti created the romantic comedy-drama web seriesMade in Heaven, alongsideNithya Mehra andAlankrita Srivastava which told the story of two wedding planners inNew Delhi.[22][23] The series, which stars an ensemble cast ofArjun Mathur,Sobhita Dhulipala,Jim Sarbh,Shashank Arora,Kalki Koechlin andShivani Raghuvanshi in lead roles, was produced byTiger Baby Films and Excel Entertainment, and premiered onAmazon Prime Video. The first season of the series released in 2019, followed by the second season in 2023, after several delays due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in India. The series received widespread critical acclaim, with high praise for its dark take on the Big Fat Indian Wedding.
She was also invited to be a member of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[24]
In 2020, she reteamed with Kashyap, Banerjee and Johar for thehorroranthology filmGhost Stories, the sequel toLust Stories.[25]Ghost Stories premiered on Netflix on 1 January 2020.[26] Her segment in the film told the story of an ailing bedridden elderly lady (Surekha Sikri) and her nurse (Janhvi Kapoor). Unlike its predecessors, it received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release.
In 2023, she and Kagti co-created the crime thriller web seriesDahaad starringSonakshi Sinha,Gulshan Devaiah,Vijay Varma andSohum Shah in lead roles. The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video and received positive reviews from critics upon release. It also became the first ever Indian web series to premiere at the 2023Berlin International Film Festival, where it competed for the Berlinale Series Award.
Akhtar next directed thelive-action feature film adaptation ofThe Archies which released onNetflix on 7 December 2023.[27] The film stars debutants Agastya Nanda,Khushi Kapoor,Suhana Khan,Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja,Aditi Saigal and Yuvraj Menda asArchie Andrews,Betty Cooper,Veronica Lodge,Reggie Mantle,Jughead Jones,Ethel Muggs andDilton Doiley respectively. It opened to negetive reviews from critics and audience alike upon release.
She next collaborated with Kagti, Arjun Varain Singh and Yash Sahai on the coming-of-age buddy dramaKho Gaye Hum Kahan, directed by Singh and starringSiddhant Chaturvedi,Ananya Panday, andAdarsh Gourav in lead roles.[28] The film was released onNetflix on 26 December 2023 and received positive reviews from critics upon release.[29]
| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Producer | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. | No | No | Executive | |
| 2009 | Luck By Chance | Yes | Yes | Executive | Directorial debut |
| 2011 | Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara | Yes | Yes | No | co-writer :Reema Kagti |
| 2012 | Talaash: The Answer Lies Within | No | Yes | No | |
| 2013 | Bombay Talkies | Yes | Yes | No | anthology film; Segment:Sheila Ki Jawaani |
| 2015 | Dil Dhadakne Do | Yes | Yes | No | co-writer :Reema Kagti |
| 2018 | Lust Stories | Yes | Yes | No | anthology film; Segment 2 |
| 2019 | Gully Boy | Yes | Yes | Yes | co-writer :Reema Kagti |
| 2020 | Ghost Stories | Yes | Yes | No | anthology film; Segment 1 |
| 2023 | The Archies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Live-action musical film adaptation[30] |
| Kho Gaye Hum Kahan | No | Yes | Yes | Released onNetflix[31] | |
| 2025 | Superboys of Malegaon | No | No | Yes | Released onAmazon Prime Video[28] |
| Year | Show | Creator | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–2023 | Made in Heaven | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-created withReema Kagti | Amazon Prime Video |
| 2023 | Dahaad | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
She appeared on theValentine's Day charity show ofKaun Banega Crorepati along with her brotherFarhan Akhtar.[32] She also appeared in a very brief role as Rasa Devi's (Rekha's) courtesan inKama Sutra: A Tale of Love in September 1996.[33] She andShah Rukh Khan had a 'fireside chat' withJeff Bezos ofAmazon in January 2020.[34][35][36]
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