Zoya Akhtar

Zoya Akhtar
Akhtar at Filmfare Glamour & Style Awards in 2016
Born (1972-10-14) 14 October 1972 (age 52)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
Years active1996–present
Notable work
Parents
RelativesSee Akhtar family

Zoya Akhtar (born 14 October 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. Born to Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, she completed a diploma in filmmaking from NYU and assisted directors Mira Nair, Tony Gerber and Dev Benegal, before becoming an independent writer and director. She is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards.[1] Akhtar, along with Reema Kagti, founded Tiger Baby Films, a film and web studio in October 2015.

She made her directorial debut with the drama Luck by Chance (2009), and achieved her breakthrough with the ensemble buddy road comedy-drama Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), winning the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director for the former, and the Filmfare Award for Best Director for the latter. She followed it up with co-writing the psychological crime thriller Talaash: The Answer Lies Within (2012) alongside Reema Kagti, and directing Sheila Ki Jawaani, a segment of the anthology film Bombay Talkies (2013).

Akhtar then went on to direct the ensemble family comedy-drama Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), segments in the anthology films Lust Stories (2018) and Ghost Stories (2020), and the musical drama Gully Boy (2019), winning her second Filmfare Award for Best Director for the latter, thus becoming the only female director to have won the award twice. She ventured into the OTT space with the romantic comedy-drama series Made in Heaven (2019–present) and the crime thriller series Dahaad (2023–present). In 2023, she helmed the live-action feature film adaptation of The Archies for Netflix.

She is also a board member of Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI).[2]

  1. ^ "Filmfare Awards Winners From 1953 to 2020". filmfare.com. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Mumbai Academy of Moving Image - Trustees Site". www.mumbaifilmfestival.com.