Farhan Akhtar
Actor
Biography
Farhan Akhtar (born 10 January 1974) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, playback singer and television host. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influence of the Hindi film industry. He began his career in Bollywood by working as an assistant director in Lamhe (1991) and Himalay Putra (1997).
Akhtar, after establishing a production company named Excel Entertainment along with Ritesh Sidhwani, made his directorial debut with Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and received critical acclaim for portraying modern youth. The film also won a National award. Following it, he made Lakshya (2004) and had his Hollywood debut through the soundtrack of Bride and Prejudice (2004), for which he wrote the lyrics. He went on to make the commercially successful Don (2006). He directed a short film titled Positive (2007), to spread awareness on HIV-AIDS.
As Director
Filmography
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
as Imran Qureshi 2011
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
as Milkha Singh 2013
Dil Dhadakne Do
as Sunny Gill 2015
Wazir
as Daanish Ali 2016
Rock On!!
as Aditya Shroff 2008
Karthik Calling Karthik
as Karthik 2010
The Sky Is Pink
as Niren Chaudhary 2019
Luck by Chance
as Vikram Jaisingh 2009
The Archies
as Uncle Ben (voice) 2023
Bombay Talkies
as Self, special appearance in "Apna Bombay Talkies" (uncredited) 2013
Shaadi Ke Side Effects
as Siddharth Roy 2014
Lucknow Central
as Kishan Mohan Girhotra 2017
Toofaan
as "Ajju" Aziz Ali 2021
Rock On 2
as Aditya Shroff 2016
Daddy
as Maqsood 2017
The Fakir of Venice
as Adi 2019
120 Bahadur
as Major Shaitan Singh 2025