Farhan Akhtar
| Farhan Akhtar | |
|---|---|
 Farhan Akhtar at Karthik Calling Karthik promotional event. |
|
| Born | 9 January 1974 [1] [2] Mumbai, India |
| Occupation | Actor, Director, Producer, Playback Singer, Lyricist, Screenwriter, Television host |
| Years active | 1998—present |
| Spouse | Adhuna Akhtar |
Farhan Akhtar (Hindi: फ़रहान अख़्तर, Urdu: فرحان اختر) (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian filmmaker, script writer, actor, playback singer, lyricist, film producer who works in Hindi cinema. He is the son of screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani and the younger brother of director Zoya Akhtar.
Akhtar made his directorial debut in 2001 with Dil Chahta Hai which received praise from critics for portraying contemporary Indian youth as cosmopolitan and urban and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. He would make his acting debut 7 years later with Rock On!! (2008) which also won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.
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[edit] Personal life and background
Farhan Akhtar was born in Mumbai to screenwriters, Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani. His stepmother is the actress Shabana Azmi. He is also the grandson of Urdu poet Jan Nisar Akhtar and the cousin of Bollywood film director and dance choreographer Farah Khan, and of Sajid Khan. His elder sister Zoya Akhtar made her directorial debut with Luck By Chance, in which Farhan was the main lead. Farhan is married to Adhuna Bhabani Akhtar, a hairstylist who runs B:Blunt Salon with her brother. They have two daughters: Shakya and Akira.
[edit] Career
He made his writing and directorial debut at age 27 in Hindi cinema with the 2001-hit, Dil Chahta Hai, produced by Excel Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., a production company he co-established along with Ritesh Sidwani in 1999.[3][4] The movie told the story of three friends (played by Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna), recently graduated from college and dealing with issues of love and friendship. It was a critical and commercial success, especially popular among the younger generation. It earned quite a few nominations at various award shows, including for Best Screenplay, Direction and Film. It won that year's National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.[5]
Akhtar then moved onto his next project, Lakshya (2004), a movie about an aimless youngster finally setting a goal for himself, starring Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta. Though the movie did not do as well at the box-office, it won him much critical acclaim.[6][7] Manish Gajjar from BBC wrote," Young Farhan Akhtar, proves yet again that he is one of the finiest directors Bollywood has to date. He has paid full attention to the script and the technical aspects, giving rise to a polished product".[8] The script of the movie was authored by his father Javed Akhtar. Meanwhile, he also wrote lyrics for Gurinder Chadha's 2004 Hollywood film, Bride and Prejudice
He then directed a remake of the 1978 Amitabh Bachchan film, Don titled Don: The Chase Begins Again which starred Shahrukh Khan in the title role. The film released on 20 October 2006. Though the movie received mixed reviews, it proved to be a great success at the box office, grossing over 50 crores, and being the fifth biggest hit of the year.[9] In 2007 he produced the film Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. which performed fairly well at the box office.[10]
In 2007, he directed Positive, a 12-minute short film on HIV stigma and the need for family support for the patient. Shot in Mumbai, it was part of 'AIDS JaaGo' (AIDS Awake), a series of four short films, directed by Mira Nair, Santosh Sivan, Vishal Bhardwaj and Farhan Akhtar, in a joint initiative of Mira Nair's Mirabai Films and voluntary organisations Avahan and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.[11] The film stars, Boman Irani, Shabana Azmi and a debutant actor, Arjun Mathur.[12]
In 2008, Akhtar made his acting debut in Rock On!!. It was critically acclaimed as well as a box office hit, doing exceptionally well particularly in the metros.[13] He also appeared as the male lead in his sister Zoya's directorial debut, Luck By Chance. His film Karthik Calling Karthik was released in 2010 and received decent critical reviews.[citation needed] It also performed moderately well at box office.[citation needed] Two more movies were scheduled to release in 2010: Dhruv and Gulel (his only acting venture which is not his production too). However, Dhruv has reportedly been delayed since Akhtar wanted to complete the filming of Don 2: The King is Back.[citation needed] Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was released on 15 July 2011 in which he co-stars with Hrithik Roshan and Abhay Deol. It did very well at the box office and was almost unanimously praised by critics.
Akhtar also made his singing debut in Rock On!!, singing in most of the movie's songs. He was even supposed to sing a song for Blue, which has music by A. R. Rahman.[14] However this could not happen as Akhtar was shooting for Kartik Calling Karthik then and could not find the time.
He has appeared as a judge on a few shows on television, including the first season of the dance-reality show, Nach Baliye (2005), and the beauty pageant, Femina Miss India (in 2002). He also hosted a TV show on NDTV Imagine, called Oye! It's Friday!.[15]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Director/Writer
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Breathless | Music video for the single "Breathless" Co-directed by Zoya Akhtar |
| 2001 | Dil Chahta Hai | National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Director |
| 2004 | Lakshya | Nominated — Filmfare Award for Best Director |
| 2006 | Don: The Chase Begins Again | A Remake of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer 1978 Action thriller Don |
| 2007 | Positive | Short film |
| 2011 | Don 2 | Sequel to the 2006 Don: The Chase Begins Again |
[edit] Producer
| Year | Film | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Don: The Chase Begins Again | Himself | Nominated — Filmfare Award for Best Movie |
| 2007 | Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. | Reema Kagti | |
| 2008 | Rock On!! | Abhishek Kapoor | National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi Nominated — Filmfare Award for Best Movie |
| 2009 | Luck By Chance | Zoya Akhtar | |
| 2010 | Karthik Calling Karthik | Vijay Lalwani | |
| 2011 | Game | Abhinay Deo | |
| 2011 | Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara | Zoya Akhtar | Won—Filmfare Award for Best Movie |
| 2011 | Don 2: The King is Back | Himself | |
| 2012 | Talaash | Reema Kagti |
[edit] Actor
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Fakir of Venice | Adi Contractor | |
| 2008 | Rock On!! | Aditya Shroff | Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut |
| 2009 | Luck By Chance | Vikram Jaisingh | |
| 2010 | Karthik Calling Karthik | Karthik Narayan | |
| 2011 | Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara | Imraan | Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 2012 | Bhaag Milkha Bhaag | Milkha Singh | Filming |
[edit] Playback Singer
| Year | Film | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Rock On!! | |
| "Socha Hai" | ||
| "Pichle Saat Dinon Mein" | ||
| "Rock On!!!" | ||
| "Tum Ho Toh" | ||
| "Sinbad The Sailor" | ||
| 2011 | Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara | |
| "Señorita" | ||
| "Toh Zinda Ho Tum" | ||
| "Señorita" (Remix) |
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] National Film Awards
- Won
- 2002: National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi – Dil Chahta Hai
- 2009: National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi – Rock On!!
[edit] Filmfare Awards
Won
- 2002: Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie – Dil Chahta Hai
- 2002: Best Screenplay – Dil Chahta Hai
- 2009: Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – Rock On!!
- 2012: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
- 2012: Filmfare Best Film Award – Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
- 2012: Best Dialogue: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Nominated
- 2002: Filmfare Best Director Award – Dil Chahta Hai
- 2002: Filmfare Best Film Award – Dil Chahta Hai
- 2005: Filmfare Best Director Award – Lakshya
- 2007: Filmfare Best Director Award – Don: The Chase Begins Again
- 2007: Filmfare Best Film Award – Don: The Chase Begins Again
- 2009: Filmfare Best Film Award – Rock On!!
- 2012: Filmfare Best Director Award – Don 2
- 2012: Filmfare Best Film Award – Don 2
[edit] References
- ^ "Farhan Akhtar- Biography". chakpak.com. http://www.chakpak.com/celebrity/farhan-akhtar/27155. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ "Farhan Akhtar turns 34". rediff.com. 9 January 2008. http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2008/jan/09slid1.htm. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
- ^ Official profile, and Filmography Excel Entertainment Pvt. Ltd..[dead link]
- ^ Farhan Akhtar Livemint, 30 Aug. 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "Lagaan sweeps national film awards". Times of India. 28 July 2002. "Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai won the award for best feature film in Hindi"
- ^ http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=210&catName=
- ^ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-30/neeru-saluja/30459201_1_farhan-akhtar-karthik-directorial-debut
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/films/bollywood/2004/06/lakshya_review.shtml
- ^ "Box Office 2006". BoxOffice India. http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=212&catName=MjAwNg==. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
- ^ "Box Office 2007". BoxOffice India. http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=214&catName=MjAwNw==. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
- ^ Mira Nair, Farhan Akhtar to make films on AIDS Rediff.com, Movies, 22 January 2007.
- ^ Farhan Akhtar's Positive outlook on HIV Sify, News, 18 October 2007.
- ^ "Box Office 2008". BoxOffice India. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=215&catName=MjAwOA==. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
- ^ Farhan Akhtar to sing for Rahman – Music News – ApunKaChoice.Com
- ^ "Farhan Akhtar to dabble in television production now". The Hindu. 26 November 2008. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200811260904.htm. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
[edit] External links
- Farhan Akhtar on Twitter
- Farhan Akhtar at the Internet Movie Database
- Farhan Akhtar at BBC
- Farhan Akhtar's Official Movie Production Site
- We’re mourning Bibi’s loss: Farhan
- Farhan joins hands with Mamata Banerjee
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