Zoya Akhtar (born 14 October 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. After completing a diploma in filmmaking from

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, she assisted directors such as

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spher ...

Tony Gerber Tony Gerber is an American filmmaker and the co-founder of Market Road Films, an independent production company. Personal life Gerber was born in New York City. He is a 1981 graduate of the Hackley School, and a 1995 graduate of the Columbia U ...

and Dev Benegal, before becoming a writer and director herself. Akhtar is the recipient of several accolades, including five Filmfare Awards. Zoya, along with

Reema Kagti Reema Kagti (real name: Reema Kakati) is an Indian film director and screenwriter, who works in Bollywood. She made her debut as a director in the critically acclaimed ''Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.'' (2007), which was followed by the neo-noir, ...

founded

Tiger Baby Films Tiger Baby is an Indian film production company owned by film directors Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. The company was founded in October 2015. Productions Tiger Baby made its debut production with the musical-drama ''Gully Boy''. The movie p ...

, a film and web studio, in October 2015. She has directed movies such as '' Luck by Chance'' (2009), ''

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara ''Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'' (), also abbreviated as ''ZNMD'', is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language buddy road comedy drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under Excel Entertainment. The film features ...

'' (2011) and ''Sheila Ki Jawani'', a segment of ''Bombay Talkies'' (2013). She has co-written '' Talaash'' (2012) alongside

. She then went on to direct ''

Dil Dhadakne Do ''Dil Dhadakne Do'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under the Excel Entertainment banner. The film features an ensemble cast of Anil Kapoor, Shefali Sh ...

'' (2015) and ''

Gully Boy ''Gully Boy'' is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar, and written by Akhtar and Reema Kagti. The film was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar under the banners of Tiger Baby Films and Excel ...

'' (2019).

Personal life

Zoya Akhtar was born to poet, lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar and screenwriter

Honey Irani Honey Irani is an Indian actress and screenwriter, who works in Hindi cinema. She started her career as a child actor with roles in films such as Mahesh Kaul’s Pyar ki Pyas. She was probably four to five years old when the shooting of the ...

. Akhtar's stepmother is actress

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

. Her younger brother,

Farhan Akhtar Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influe ...

, is an actor and director. She attended Maneckji Cooper and earned her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree from St. Xavier's College, both from Mumbai. Later, she joined the New York University Tisch School of the Arts to learn film production. Her great-grandfather,

Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi (1796/1797 – 19 August 1861) was a Hanafi jurist, rationalist scholar, Maturidi theologian, philosopher and poet. He was an activist of the Indian independence movement and campaigned against British occupation. He issue ...

, a scholar of Islamic studies and theology, edited the first diwan of

Mirza Ghalib ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Kala Mahal, Agra, Maratha Confederacy , death_date = , death_place = Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, British India , occupation = Poet , language ...

on his request and later became a figure during the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

in his native Khairabad.Jan Nisar Akhtar Biography
''The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume Two) (D -J)''. by Amaresh Datta.

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

, 2006. . ''p. 1796-97''. She is great-granddaughter of Urdu poet Muztar Khairabadi and granddaughter of poet

Jan Nisar Akhtar Jan Nisar Akhtar (18 February 1914 – 19 August 1976) was an Indian poet of Urdu ghazals and nazms, and a part of the Progressive Writers' Movement, who was also a lyricist for Bollywood. He was son of Muztar Khairabadi and great grandson ...

. Akhtar grew up in an agnostic environment and along with her brother

Farhan Farhan or Farhaan (Persian: فرحان ''farḥān'') is a name of Persian origin meaning "happy, joyful, blessed, happy, delightful, rejoicing, merry, inclined to hopefulness". The name is the male variant from the female stem given name Farah, an ...

and father Javed Akhtar, and does not believe in any religion.

Career

Akhtar started her career as the co-director of a music video called ''Price of Bullets'' for a rock band called Pentagram. She has worked as a

casting director In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra for a particular role or part in a script, screenp ...

for films including ''

Split Wide Open ''Split Wide Open'' is a 1999 Indian film directed by Dev Benegal. It is his second feature film after '' English, August'' (1994). The film primarily deals with the Water conflicts in the slums of Bombay, and paedophilia, and also looks at the s ...

'' (1999) and ''

Dil Chahta Hai ''Dil Chahta Hai'' () is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Farhan Akhtar. It was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and released under the banner of Excel Entertainment (which Akhtar and Sidhwani ...

'' (2001), and as an assistant director for her brother

's films ''Dil Chahta Hai'' and '' Lakshya'' (2004). She then worked as an executive producer for her longtime associate and friend

's '' Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.'' (2007), also produced by

Excel Entertainment Excel Entertainment is an Indian production company, founded by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar in 1999. Based in Mumbai, they mainly produce Hindi films. In 2017, they released India's first original series for Amazon Prime Video – I ...

Akhtar made her directorial debut with '' Luck By Chance'' (2009), starring her brother

and

Konkona Sen Sharma Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen S ...

. It tells the story of a struggling actor who breaks into the industry. The film was well received by critics, despite underperforming at the box office. In 2011, she directed ''

'', which starred an ensemble cast of

Hrithik Roshan Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six ...

, Abhay Deol,

Katrina Kaif Katrina Kaif (; born Katrina Turquotte; 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in Hindi-language films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has received accolades, including four Screen Awards and four Zee Cine Awards, in a ...

and

Kalki Koechlin Kalki Koechlin (; born 10 January 1984) is a French actress and writer who works in Hindi films. Known for her unconventional body of work, she is the recipient of such accolades as a National Film Award, a Filmfare Award, and two Screen Awar ...

. It turned out to be a huge commercial success at the box-office and won her the Filmfare Award for Best Director. In 2013, Akhtar teamed up with Anurag Kashyap,

Dibakar Banerjee Dibakar Banerjee (born 21 June 1969) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and advertisement-filmmaker known for his work in Hindi films. Banerjee started his career in advertising, being a feature filmmaker, he still continues t ...

and Karan Johar for ''

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. After R ...

''. It was made as a celebration of 100 years of

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...

. She then went on to direct ''

'' (2015), a film based on a dysfunctional Punjabi family starring

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

as an egotistical industrialist,

Shefali Shah Shefali Shah (born Shefali Shetty on 22 May 1973) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Respected for her acting prowess, she works primarily in independent Hindi films and has received local and foreign accolades for her perf ...

as his bitter socialite-wife, and

Priyanka Chopra Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awar ...

and

Ranveer Singh Ranveer Singh Bhavnani (; born 6 July 1985) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. The recipient of several awards, including five Filmfare Awards, he is among the highest-paid Indian actors and has been featured in ''Forbes India''s ...

as their children. The film also featured Anushka Sharma and

as love interests for

and

respectively. In 2015, Akhtar along with

founded

, an Indian film production company. In 2018, she then again teamed up with Anurag Kashyap,

and Karan Johar for '' Lust Stories'', which premiered on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

in June 2018. After ''Dil Dhadakne Do'', Akhtar directed ''

'' starring

and

Alia Bhatt Alia Bhatt (; born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Alia Bhatt, several accolades including four Filmfare Awards. One of I ...

, loosely based on the lives of Mumbai rapper

Naezy Naved Shaikh (born 10 August 1993), better known by his stage name Naezy, is an Indian rapper from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who first broke into mainstream rap with the song ''"Mere Gully Mein"'' featuring fellow rapper DIVINE. A fictional version o ...

. ''Gully Boy'' won a second Best Director award at Filmfare. She thus became the only female director to win the award twice. Zoya and Kagti also worked on a story for a web series produced by

and Excel Entertainment for Amazon Prime called ''

Made in Heaven ''Made in Heaven'' is the fifteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 6 November 1995 by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and by Hollywood Records in the United States. It was the band's first and only release s ...

'', a story about two wedding planners in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

. She has also been invited to be a member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

. In October 2019, she began directing a segment of ''Ghost Stories'' (2020), a horror anthology film, consisting of 4

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

segments. Other segments are directed by Anurag Kashyap,

, and Karan Johar. ''Ghost Stories'' premiered on Netflix on 1 January 2020. In November 2021, Netflix announced that Akhtar would direct a live-action feature film adaptation of ''

The Archies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''.

Filmography

Director

Executive producer

Lyricist

Other appearances

She appeared on the

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...

charity show of ''

Kaun Banega Crorepati ''Kaun Banega Crorepati'' (also simply known as ''KBC'') is an Indian Hindi-language television game show. It is the official Hindi adaptation of the ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' franchise. It has been presented by actor Amitabh Bachchan ...

'' along with her brother

. She also appeared in a very brief role as Rasa Devi's (

Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fi ...

's) courtesan in '' Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love'' in September 1996. She and Shah Rukh Khan had a 'fireside chat' with

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former preside ...

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

in January 2020.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akhtar, Zoya Living people Indian women film directors Film directors from Mumbai 1972 births Hindi-language film directors 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian writers 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Indian women screenwriters 21st-century Indian film directors Women writers from Maharashtra Hindi screenwriters Women artists from Maharashtra Screenwriters from Mumbai Indian atheists Indian agnostics 21st-century Indian screenwriters Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners Zee Cine Awards winners International Indian Film Academy Awards winners