Zoya Akhtar

Director

Zoya Akhtar was born in Bombay (later Mumbai), Maharashtra, India on October 14th, 1972 and is the Director. At the age of 51, Zoya Akhtar biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Other Names / Nick Names
Zoya
Date of Birth
October 14, 1972
Nationality
India
Place of Birth
Bombay (later Mumbai), Maharashtra, India
Age
51 years old
Zodiac Sign
Libra
Networth
$10 Million
Profession
Film Director, Film Producer, Screenwriter
Zoya Akhtar Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

At 51 years old, Zoya Akhtar has this physical status:

Height
157cm
Weight
60kg
Hair Color
Black
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Build
Average
Measurements
Not Available
Zoya Akhtar Religion, Education, and Hobbies
Religion
She had an agnostic upbringing and does not believe in any religion.
Hobbies
Not Available
Education
Maneckji Cooper, St. Xavier’s College
Zoya Akhtar Spouse(s), Children, Affair, Parents, and Family
Spouse(s)
Not Available
Children
Not Available
Dating / Affair
Not Available
Parents
Javed Akhtar, Honey Irani
Siblings
Farhan Akhtar (Younger Brother) (Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Playback Singer, Producer, Television Host)
Other Family
Jan Nisar Akhtar (Paternal Grandfather) (Poet, Lyricist), Safiya Siraj-ul Haq (Paternal Grandmother) (Teacher, Writer), Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi (Great Grandfather) (A scholar of Islamic studies and theology), Muztar Khairabadi (Great Grandfather) (Urdu Poet), Salman Akhtar (Paternal Uncle) (Poet, Psychoanalyst), Menaka (Maternal Aunt), Daisy Irani (Maternal Aunt) (Actor), Sajid Khan (Cousin) (Film Director, Television Presenter, Comedian, Actor), Farah Khan (Cousin) (Film Director, Film Producer, Actor, Dancer, Choreographer), Kabir (Cousin), Varsha (Cousin), Ritu (Cousin), Shabana Azmi (Stepmother) (Actor), Shakya (Niece), Akira (Niece)
Zoya Akhtar 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 for films including Split Wide Open (1999) and Dil Chahta Hai (2001), and as an assistant director for her brother Farhan Akhtar's films Dil Chahta Hai and Lakshya (2004). She then worked as an executive producer for her longtime associate and friend Reema Kagti's Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), also produced by Excel Entertainment.

Akhtar made her directorial debut with Luck By Chance (2009), starring her brother Farhan Akhtar and Konkona Sen Sharma. 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 Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which starred an ensemble cast of Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin. 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 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 Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra respectively.

In 2015, Akhtar along with Reema Kagti founded Tiger Baby Films, an Indian film production company.

In 2018, she then again teamed up with Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee and Karan Johar for Lust Stories, which premiered on Netflix in June 2018.

After Dil Dhadakne Do, Akhtar directed Gully Boy starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, loosely based on the lives of Mumbai rapper Naezy. 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 Tiger Baby Films and Excel Entertainment for Amazon Prime called Made in Heaven, a story about two wedding planners in New Delhi.

She has also been invited to be a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In October 2019, she began directing a segment of Ghost Stories (2020), a horror anthology film, consisting of 4 short film segments. Other segments are directed by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, 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.

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