Siblings Farhan Akhtar Role Film director | Name Zoya Akhtar Years active 1999—present | |
 | ||
Born 14 October 1972 (age 52) ( 1972-10-14 ) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Relatives Javed Akhtar (Father)Farhan Akhtar (Brother)Honey Irani (Mother) Cousins Farah Khan, Sajid Khan, Kabir Shukla, Ritu Shukla, Varsha Shukla Education St. Xavier's College-Autonomous, Mumbai, New York University Movies Dil Dhadakne Do, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Luck by Chance, Bombay Talkies, Talaash Similar Reema Kagti, Farhan Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee Profiles | ||
Occupation director, screenwriter Parents Honey Irani, Javed Akhtar | ||
My First Film | Zoya Akhtar | Luck By Chance | Anupama Chopra
Zoya Akhtar is an Indian film director and screenwriter. She made her debut as director with the critically acclaimed Luck By Chance in 2009. In 2011, she directed the critically and commercially successful film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and won the Filmfare Award for Best Director for it.
Contents
- My First Film Zoya Akhtar Luck By Chance Anupama Chopra
- Cinema wide angle zoya akhtar reema kagti anusha rizvi
- Personal life
- Career
- Other appearances
- References
Cinema wide angle zoya akhtar reema kagti anusha rizvi
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 great-great-grandfather, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, a scholar of Islamic studies and theology, notably edited the first diwan of Mirza Ghalib on his request, and later became an important figure during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in his native Khairabad.
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.
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.
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.
In 2011, she directed Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, a multistarrer with Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin. It turned out to be a huge box office success and was well received by critics and won her 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.
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.
After Dil Dhadakne Do, Zoya Akhtar's next directorial venture is titled Gully Boy and will star Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. 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.
Other appearances
She appeared on the Valentine's Day charity show of Kaun Banega Crorepati along with her brother Farhan Akhtar. She also appeared in a very brief role as Rasa Devi's Rekha's Courtesan in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love.