IT’S BEEN 22 years since Farhan Akhtar’s directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai, which not only brought a paradigm shift in Hindi cinema, but in storytelling as well. The film continues to be hailed as a milestone. In 2009, Farhan’s sister Zoya made her directorial debut with Luck By Chance, a satirical tongue-in-cheek narrative of the world she knew best, Bollywood.
Born to screenwriter and poet Javed Akhtar, the Akhtar siblings chose to build their career behind the camera. From Lakshaye to Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara to Gully Boy, the effort was to move away from the formulaic narratives and redefine mainstream narratives through stories which resonated
with the audience at large. Farhan along with Ritesh Sidhwani founded Excel Entertainment, and Zoya along with partner Reema Kagti founded Tiger Baby Films, to tell stories that shift consciousness.
Though both the brother and sister have their distinct styles, their vision remains the same — to build bridges, create good cinema, and to create a community of storytellers. The two have co-produced debutante director Arjun V Singh’s Kho Gaye Hum Kahan — a coming-of-age story set in the digital world and the rabbit hole of social media. Talking to Indulge, the siblings reveal their process, creative disagreements and their admiration for each other.
We are sitting here at Excel Entertainment, where it all began nearly 25 years ago, what has the journey been like?
Farhan: It feels amazing. We have been working together for 23 years, which is what people know, because that’s when Dil Chahta Hai was released. But we have been working even before that, on possibilities of ideas. Zoya and Reema had this ambition to have their own productions company, their own identity and a voice. To see that it’s being respected and recognised the world over, fills me with so much happiness and pride.
Both of you have very distinct voices. How would you define the other when it comes to your style and grammar? In case of creative disagreement, who has the last say?
Zoya: It’s a bit trickier because we all work on each other’s narratives. So, the lines are very blurred there. As directors, we both have a different approach. However, when it comes to storytelling and writing, we are like the Venn diagram, there is real overlap.
Farhan: It’s not possible to agree on everything. There have been many disagreements. The who gets the loudest and the most aggressive, usually wins.
The cinematic landscape has changed drastically from the time you made your first film when there was no social media and no streaming. With inflated box office numbers and manipulated views, is it easier or tougher to make films now?
Farhan: There is a certain bravado when you’re making your first film because you don’t know where your career is going and what’s going to happen with this film. So, the risk that you’re willing to
take or the courage that you’re willing to show is tremendous because you want to create an impact. Yes, there are people who will tell you to be cautious. I think that’s the thing that you have to keep battling, avoid succumbing to and remember what it was about making films that excited you in the first place. The moment you start thinking numbers, you lose focus.
Zoya: It was tough earlier since you only had theatre releases, those many actors, and only that much funding in the market. It is much easier to get a film made today, but to get it to breakthrough might
be tough because there’s just so much noise. Theatre and streaming are completely different experiences and are not interchangeable. The future will be in the way of structuring things, where streamers will also do certain projects that will be theatrical and then stream. But both mediums are here to stay.
What is a Zoya Akhtar set vs a Farhan Akhtar set?
Farhan: Her’s is more current, mine happened about 12 years back.
Zoya: We work with similar people, so it’s kind of the same. Both of us enjoy working and love what we do. It’s a very fluid, easy and fun atmosphere. Farhan
is tougher to work with as a director.
A skill of the other you admire and wish you had?
Farhan: I genuinely feel that I wish I could write as well as Zoya does. Reema and she are amazing writers, and am blown away by their scripts. So, it is more that I can imbibe from their writing, that is a skill I wish to have.
Zoya: I envy that Farhan has the brain of an editor. I’m getting better but I still don’t have that. He sees his cut very clean. The other thing is his self-discipline. He is disciplined, while I eat a bowl of ice
cream when stressed!
What is the roadmap ahead?
Zoya: It’s always ‘as and when’ things come up. Like Kho Gaye Hum Kahan came out of a conversation, and I said let us put this to paper. Tomorrow, it could be something we read in the newspaper, it could be a genre I’m dying to explore, it could be an idea that comes to Farhan, that he’s
looking to get written or produced. It is very organic. We don’t plan.
Farhan: We have quite a few films. I have also announced that I would be directing Don 3.
Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is streaming on Netflix.