Farhan akh tar

a study by Preksha Bhatia (1733049)

 profile
Date Of Birth: 9 January 1974
Place Of Birth: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality: Indian
Occupation: Actor, Director, Singer, Producer, Writer

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 “
Be the catalyst for
change. Empowering
women, empowering humanity.
-Farhan Akhtar

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 biography

✘ Farhan Akhtar is a truly versatile and talented person. He doesn’t just direct jaw
dropping films, but is also a writer, producer, a dynamic actor and a singer and lyricist.
✘ He was fortunately born with Bollywood running in his veins. His father, Javed Akhtar, is
a famous poet, lyricist, and script writer and his mother Honey Irani is no less in
creativity. His sister, Zoya Akhtar, also takes after the family talents and is one of the
leading filmmakers in India today.

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 ✘ School: Maneckji Cooper school, Mumbai
✘ College: HR College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai. ( He did not complete his
degree as he was dismissed from the college in his second year due to attendance
shortage).
✘ He does not have any formal training in the art of filmography.
✘ He started working as an assistant director at the an early age on films like Lamhe (1991)
and Himalay Putra (1997).
✘ He launched Excel Entertainment with Ritesh Sidhwani in 1999.

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✘ Dil Chahta Hai (2001) was his writing and directorial debut. The movie proved to be a
classic at that time and remains a legend till date.
✘ He then made Lakshya (2004) and had his Hollywood debut as a lyricist for the
soundtrack of Bride and Prejudice (2004). Next in his cap of many feathers is successful
Don series starting 2006. He also directed a short film titled Positive (2007), to spread
awareness on HIV-AIDS.
✘ His official debut as an actor was with Rock On!! (2008), which bagged him a second
National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi as producer. He also contributed a lot to
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), which won him two Filmfare Awards. Other movies that
he won major awards and praise for are: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), Wazir (20160 and Dil
Dhadakne Do (2016)

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 National Awards
Best Feature Film in Hindi
Dil Chahta Hai (2001)

Apsara Film Producers Guild Awards

Best Actor
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)

Filmfare
Critics Award Best Film
Best Screenplay
Dil Chahta Hai (2002)
And many more….

IIFA
Best Male Debutant Star
IIFA
Best Screenplay Rock On!! (2009)
Dil Chahta Hai (2002)

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 STYLE AND TECHNIQUE

Ritesh Sidhwani has always been a

The movies directed &/or produced by friend and mentor for Farhan Akhtar.
him mostly feature a coming of age Farhan often works with him and he
protagonist. The character is developed has produced most of all films made by
to be naive and immature but through the Farhan.
course of the film, turns into a mature
mentally stable character. It gives a
different perspective to the usual ‘Happy
Endings’. E.g. Dil Chahta Hai (2001),
Lakshya (2004) ,etc.
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 The ultra talented trio of
Farhan Akhtar pays close
Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan
attention to the characters
Noorani and Loy Mendonsa
he’s writing. He ensures each
(Shankar - Ehsaan - Loy), are
action they do builds up to
Farhan’s go to music directors.
their personality and justify
the reactions they recieve.
He uses a lot of close-ups
and extreme close-ups shots
as catalysts for the same. The plots of most of his
films are based on the
importance of ‘friendship’
and 'family’. The intense
He uses wide-angled shots to
bond that the Akhtar
amplify the effects of the
family has, really comes
surroundings on the characters
out in Farhan’s movies.
and their development.
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 His sets tend to be very simple and
Early films made by Farhan
made around everyday things since
hint at his inane love for
most of his movies focus on
Goa as each of them (From
characters picked out of everyday
Dil Chahta hai to Rock On!!)
lives of people which is what makes
have at least one scene
them so relatable.
shot in the beautiful city.

He usually stars actors and actresses One of the most astonishing feature of
that we usually see in very meaningful Farhan Akhtar is his versatility and the
roles across bollywood. E.g. Boman dedication he has to keep the versatility
Irani intact.

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 dil chahta hai
-a critical analysis-

Three inseparable childhood friends are just out of

college. Nothing comes between them - until they
each fall in love, and their wildly different
approaches to relationships creates tension.

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✘ Dil Chahta Hai was the debut movie for Farhan Akhtar under the Excel Entertainment banner.
✘ The script of this movie was so close to his heart that he refused to let anyone else direct it,
and this marked the beginning of his directorial career.
✘ This movie, till date, remains a classic that all Indian 20 somethings idealise.
✘ It is not just a great story, but also a great cinematic experience.
✘ Farhan inexplicably uses close-up shots to focus on the emotions of the three main
protagonists which lay the course for the story to proceed and allow us to judge which
direction a character is going to go in.
✘ The movie stars Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna and Preity Zinta. These stars were
the youth prodigies at the time of the release.
✘ Farhan Akhtar has a very distinct directing style as mentioned in the ‘styles and techniques’
segment. This movie too, displays all these features.

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The End

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