Zoya Akhtar’s push made Farhan Akhtar an actor

It was his sister Zoya Akhtar who first saw him as an actor, confesses Farhan Akhtar. “I would credit her for having recognised the acting potential in me, and making me an actor,” he smiles. “I turned to acting only because of Zoya.”

Growing up, shares Farhan, his parents felt he wouldn’t amount to much. “My mom and dad (Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani) always felt yeh kuch nahi karne wala hai. But Zoya, whenever she saw me with my friends, joking and laughing and keeping them engaged, thought I had something in me. It’s her belief and confidence in me that got me focused, and allowed me to start something with her. Usually, in the presence of your parents, kids never express themselves very openly. Thus, they too felt I would not be able to do anything.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Farhan made his debut directing Dil Chahta Hai, and won a National Award for it. After making a few movies, he made his acting debut in Rock On. Besides Don 2, Farhan hasn’t directed a movie since.

He reminisces about the first Don movie he directed. “I remember when I went to watch the movie with the public, just after the interval they started asking me when I would direct the next Don, and I just said arre baba, second half toh dekh lo! (At least watch the second half!) Every time the topic of directing the next Don comes up, I can only say, dekhte hain (we’ll see).”