Next on Zoya Akhtar’s list: Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji

Zoya Akhtar has directed multi-starrers such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) and Dil Dhadakne Do (DDD; 2015). Her films have diverse characters, which are connected to one another and tend to remain the focal point.

Zoya is candid about the fact that she does refer to her experiences and infuses them into the lives of her characters. She says, “Of course, in certain situations. But if not [experienced by] me, then [I refer to the experiences that I have gathered from my] observations. I try to humanise most of my characters. I try to give them not just one shade, but create a little more of a spectrum within them. Human beings are all the same. It’s just that the frequencies (wavelengths) are higher or lower.”

She adds that in certain cases her influences are driven from “people, films, art, or even photography and real-life incidents”. Ask her if she takes any kind of advice from her brother Farhan (Akhtar) “Yes, at times. I give the first draft of my scripts and take feedback from him,” she says.

Zoya would now like to direct actors she hasn’t worked with. “I’d love to work with Amitabh Bachchan. The list also includes names such as Tabu and Rani Mukerji (Chopra).”