Farhan and I are dying to do a gangster film: Zoya
Not one to follow set norms, filmmaker Zoya Akhtar has believed in doing things at her own will and pace. She has completed a decade in Bollywood, but one look at her filmography — four feature films, three anthologies and two episodes of a web series — and it’s evident that she isn’t running any race. “I don’t feel I need to keep having a release,” she says on being asked why she doesn’t direct more often.
She made her directorial debut with Luck By Chance (2009), and followed it up with Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) and Gully Boy (2019).
“I took so long to make (my first) film. So, when I finally did it, I actually made two films back to back and I was exhausted,” shares Zoya, further revealing, “At that point, I was also dating a Spanish guy who lived in London (UK) and I spent a lot of time away, in Europe, with him. So, it was kind of a break I took because I had been working consistently.”
Refusing to compare her body of work with other filmmakers, Zoya admits she needs to get that “push” from within before she decides to make a film. “I have to have a story I really want to tell, and then it makes sense to put things out there. If you see, 2018 was again crazy for me. I did Lust Stories, Made in Heaven and Gully Boy. So, I have those spurts where I get completely mad because I have those stories to tell, but if I don’t have, I’m happy to kick back also,” explains Zoya, who also writes, “that’s why it takes me much longer to get there and direct”.
Having explored a variety of genres including her last, web anthology Ghost Stories, Zoya has certainly not put her cinema into any box. And perhaps that’s why she doesn’t have a particular genre in mind when it comes to writing scripts.
“I like movies too much. I watch all kinds of films. I feel all filmmakers are basically audiences. Because you love the movies is why you’re here pursuing it as your life, your compulsion, your profession. I like all genres. Tomorrow, if I want to repeat a road movie or a rap film, I will. I’ll do what I want and make any story that excites me,” says Zoya, who currently is looking for a good gangster film story. “Now that’s my favourite genre, but I haven’t come across any material that I want to tell. I’m actively searching because I want to do one,” she smiles.
It has been quite some time since Dil Dhadakne Do that Zoya directed her brother, actor Farhan Akhtar. Asked if there are any plans to team up soon and pat comes a reply, “I don’t know. Find me a gangster film. Farhan and I are dying to do one. We are looking for a good script.”
After spending 10 years in Bollywood, ask her how she has evolved, and Zoya says she enjoys doing things she hasn’t done before. “I have friends and experiences from everywhere; I’ve worked in all kinds of locations and situations and job profiles, so there’s a varied experience that comes handy. It’s nice when you do something you’ve to push yourself for. Then, you’re a little more alive, awake, excited with fingers crossed ‘Will I get it right?’ I like that,” she ends.
I don’t feel I need to keep having a release... I have to have a story I really want to tell, and then it makes sense to put things out there.
ZOYA AKHTAR DIRECTOR