“Filmmaking, whatever the window dressing or the scale of a film may be, is eventually about telling a story.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“If you are a doctor or farmer, be sincere about your profession. If you can do what you do honestly, you will end up serving your country.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Fitness is about keeping yourself healthy. This is something you do for yourself and for your loved ones.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“If you were to put me under one umbrella, call me a storyteller.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“’Dil Chahta Hai’ is not the first film about friendship. ‘Lakshya’ is not the first film about war and coming of age.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“To hear someone talk about their life – you get to know the way their eyes moisten up, how big the smile is or how comfortable their body language is while talking to someone.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I take a more holistic approach to fitness than trying to achieve a certain body to display.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“The more time you have, you should dedicate it to do creative work.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I usually play volleyball three times a week.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“When I watched Guru Dutt’s films, they just blew my mind.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Nobody is immune to feeling depressed.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“In any case, I am not a great one to make plans for the future.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“You have to be grateful for what you have, but you’re always pushing further.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Friendship brings in a lot of honesty and trust into any relationship, especially a marriage.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Every director has a sensibility and style, and what works is his originality and conviction.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I remember so clearly as a kid, my biggest problem in life was I used to never follow up on anything.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I am not trained to be a director or an actor. I have learnt everything by watching other people work and studying their work.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Indian food beats everything else, in my book. The kinds of cuisine our country offers is just amazing. Every single dish has a variation depending on what region you go to, and that excites me the most about Indian food.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I think all kids are rebellious. It’s a part of growing up.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“It’s very important to enjoy whatever you do in life.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Music was something I had put aside to make movies. Somehow I earlier felt there was only so much creative energy allotted to your life and only that much time to pursue your creativity. But I was wrong.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“With ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ being the first film and ‘Lakshya’ being the second, what people can expect from Excel Entertainment as a company, and from me as a director, is just good, clean entertainment. And hopefully, some residue of an idea or thought that you can take home and mull over.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“There was a phase when I would just loaf around, doing nothing. It had put my mom under a lot of stress. I knew her stress stemmed from her love for me, yet I never paid attention to her feelings. When it finally hit me that my idleness was taking a toll on her, I was genuinely sad and depressed.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Work does affect my personal life, as it consumes most of my time. It takes away a lot from my family time.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“As the director, you are the organiser who has to have all the answers. You are the person with maximum clarity.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I think nothing can be taken for granted – be it the fact that you get to work with a certain kind of talent, certain kinds of budgets, or that the audience looks forward to your work.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Apart from the highs and lows of when your film releases, there’s a strange, addictive quality that making a film has because of all that drama. There’s so much that goes on, and we miss it when it’s over.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“If you had a fabricated story coming out every two weeks or every month, it would affect you. You would be like, ‘What’s the problem with people?’ or ‘Why can’t they let me be?’ And that’s the thought that comes into anyone’s mind.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“It does not feel any different being directed by a first-timer as long as I am convinced that the director is passionate about the film he or she is making. If you get a sense of their vision for the film and their aesthetics of your performance, then it does not matter whether you work with a new or an experienced director.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Being a parent to my daughters, son to my parents, and friends to many people, I would wish for a society that’s fair to everyone, that’s free of prejudice and as non-divisive as possible.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“My sister Zoya and I have been exposed to the best of cinema of all kinds – Chinese, Japanese, Italian, etc.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“A break-up between couples is traumatic for everyone.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I like to make films with characters that resemble real people, about societies that exist.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“When I take up a film, I always think of the effect it will have on my children when they see the film years later.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Everyone has a Milkha Singh in them.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Cinema, I always felt, is a very powerful mass medium to translate ideas in an engaging way.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Even within escapist cinema, if you find a good story to tell, it will do well.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“People want a certain amount of respect when they watch a film: it should be worth of their time.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Everything I do is gauged under the shadow of ‘Dil Chahta Hai.’ Even ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ and ‘Rock On,’ which are very urban films. So I am always seen through that lens.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“As an actor, I am extremely fortunate to portray Milkha Singh on the big screen.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I think it is important to time yourself to make the right choices. It’s not responsible to go ahead and say a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on a whim.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“When I made my debut as an actor in ‘Rock On!’ I was confident to get in front of the camera.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I am very fond of technology and like to keep pace with change.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“’Deewar’ has been remade so many times, ‘Trishul’ has been remade so many times. But ‘Don’ – no one has gone into this area as often as they have gone into these other movies, and I think it fits into the modern sensibility of movie viewing quite well.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I guess just enjoying what you do and always wanting more of that enjoyment, satisfaction, and putting something together creatively – that gives me a lot of happiness.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“When you go to a film set, of course you’re going to do your job, and you’re excited about being there, but you somehow feel fatigued that you are just doing this day in and day out.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“From being in a film and shooting to just being in a studio with my guitar and musicians was a welcome change.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“It’s only when a project or film doesn’t work, that you think about what you could have done differently – whether you chose unwisely, or was there something in your application in that role, as an actor, as a director or as a producer, that you could have done better.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Amitabh Bachchan was the coolest character in every movie.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“’Dil Chahta Hai’ was too raw. We only thought about the film. We never thought where the film was going to go. We wanted to make a film on our own terms.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Most Hindi movies tend to dramatise events. They are very dialogue heavy. Characters don’t speak like people normally do in real life.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“The power with which you can create a character is tremendous and probably more satisfying than actually being the person.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“When not working, my days are lazy.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I love travelling, especially to Goa.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“If someone has behaved badly with a woman. and she hasn’t spoken about it for ten, 20, or 30 years, it’s her prerogative when she wants to speak.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“If I don’t work out, I lose weight instead of gaining it.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I love ice cream and gulab jamuns.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I like to stay within the zone of one character. It would disturb me to break away and go into an entirely different territory.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I feel with ‘Don 2’ I got an opportunity to do a very good action with the kind of pace that I would like an action film to have.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“The first time I re-discovered the joy of watching an action movie was when I saw ‘Die Hard.’ It was a completely simple plot – a guy goes to meet his wife, and the building gets taken over by terrorists – but I was completely blown away. Great characters, and it moved along really fast.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“To me ‘Qurbani’ was a good action film – it was fast, had one plot, and moved along at a pace, and it didn’t really divert attention.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“To me, action has to come from the plot.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Whether it is crimes against women, whether it’s discrimination against women, whether it’s just social bias against women – these things should be anomalies; they should not be the norm.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Being healthy is not just about building a body: it is a lifestyle that manifests itself in your general outlook. It makes you more positive and optimistic and increases your energy level.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I think it is important to play a sport. Apart from the joy of it, it helps keep you fit.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“’Lakshya’ is a different genre of movie. While ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ could be categorised as a romantic comedy, this is a war drama.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“’Haqeeqat’ was a good war drama.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“The Ladakhis, as a people, are quite laidback.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I have been a fan of movies from a very young age, and somehow, the magic of that – every single time I hear something or read something that could be made into a wonderful film or something somebody is asking me to be a part of – that connects. It just makes me feel like I’m going to be part of something magical again.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I think if I had a choice, I’d like to be in a film with De Niro.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“After ‘Rock On!,’ when I started acting, and I sang in the film, people asked me, ‘What was the need to sing in your film?’ and things like that. I really don’t have an answer for it. In terms of what made me do it? It just felt like the right thing to do.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I was very focused when I wanted to make ‘Dil Chahta Hai,’ though it was difficult for me to convince people that I know how to make films and I will be able to direct and put a film together.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“It was interesting to write ad films and scripts for TV shows before I moved on to writing a feature film. That helped me grow as a writer, and I also found out how long I could sit in front of a computer and see something through.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“It amazes me how much noise there is on a set while people are trying to focus and do their jobs. But there’s some kind of order within that chaos.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I realised that I enjoyed direction while making ‘DCH.’ The process of putting a film together and working with the cast and crew felt good.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Film festivals are important, as they often provide an opportunity to look at a film from a fresh perspective.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Whatever films I make, the mandate is that it should touch the audiences and engage them from the first scene.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Even when I was writing the script for ‘Don,’ I suspected it could lead to a sequel.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I cannot imagine of making a film without Boman Irani.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I’m a bit of an extremist.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I wish I’d got my driving license at 18, not 22. I also wish I had graduated earlier, even though I didn’t finish college.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Every movie gets exactly what it deserves.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I think if you believe in an idea, then you should put it out there and be as original to the thought as possible without worrying about the risk.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I think, the world over, new ideas have come from young people. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but it is rare that new or radical ideas come from old people.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I used to lie a lot as a child, which I now regret. I think it is much easier just to tell the truth.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Definitely, I feel that there is a need for more female producers, directors, and writers.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“As much as a man would like to believe that he understands women, there is simply that much that he can write from their point of view or really understand them.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“There is a certain highlighting of issues, be it emotional, be it social, or simply an entertainment one: they can be written or directed by a woman differently, with a different voice. I feel that their voice needs to be given more stage and more space.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“It’s amazing how much the human mind and body can do and achieve.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“For ‘Rock On,’ we not only acted as rock musicians; we also went into the studio to record songs and jammed live to get the concert feel right.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“For me, to consciously seek unpredictable roles would be dangerous.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Every time you work with a new co-star, a whole new dynamic emerges.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“To me, ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ is definitely a landmark. It has taught me so much.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“’BMB’ has opened up a world of possibilities. It has inspired me to believe that the really difficult things in life can be achieved by sheer application.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“As an actor, you buy into someone else’s dream and make it your own, and you don’t lose sight of that.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I basically like a bit more control. Even in my personal life, I need things to be done on time. If it’s not done, I get impatient.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“Difficulty does not deter me. In fact, I find challenges exciting.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I was a complete vagabond till the age of 20, when I got my first job as an assistant director with Pankaj Parashar.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“One fear setting on filmmakers is that the audience no longer has any patience. They want things to constantly move.”
― Farhan Akhtar
“I feel nervous before performing in live concerts, but it does not last more than five minutes.”
― Farhan Akhtar
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