Farhan Akhtar bares his heart

Hailing from a family of writers, Farhan Akhtar knows the importance of language. The multitalented film personality accepts that languages are spoken owing to one being comfortable in it. And he adds that all languages, including Hindi, are equally important. 

“It’s not less than English. Look, what happens is whatever language you’ve learned the most, and have been conversing in right from your childhood days, becomes comfortable and correct for you. Right now, too, I may be talking to you in one language, but in the back of my mind, I’m phrasing it in English. Mere dimaag mein ek monologue angrezi mein chal raha hai,” he explains. “However, my Hindi is good enough. Belonging to a family of writers, I’ve inherited this quality of trying to be perfect with a language.”

Known for his concise thoughts, Farhan says that he’s very picky about his movies too. “I always choose a film that will give me loads of pleasure while doing it,” he says. “Being on the sets must entice me. If I don’t like going to one place daily where I’m working, I will not be giving out my best and the right performance. So, for me, a film is not just a romance or a comedy, or whatever genre I may choose. I have to be close to my heart, and I need to derive pleasure being a part of the movie and character as well.”

With the digital platform booming, Farhan smiles, “The advantage of the digital medium is growing multi fold. The reason is very simple: we have an iPad, a mobile phone and other digital facilities that are instantly accessible. So, reading the news while travelling not only saves you time, it tells you what’s trending too. We can also watch our favourite films. Now, I cannot say which way this will affect films. Filmmakers have to think and show great content to be able to survive.”

He adds, “We also need to pull up our socks, as international films are becoming a threat to the industry. We’ve improved technically but still lag behind. We’re responsible as filmmakers, but right now I’m happy acting.”