User:Nishita.mulla/sandbox

Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, playback singer, lyricist 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.

He started his acting career with Rock On!! (2008), for which he won a second National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi as producer, and indulged in further experimentation before he acted in, produced and wrote the dialogues for the critical and commercial success Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), which won him two Filmfare Awards, including Best Supporting Actor. In the same year, he directed a sequel to Don titled Don 2 (2011), which remains as his highest-grossing film till date. He achieved further success by portraying Milkha Singh in the 2013 film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, earning him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. In 2016, Akhtar received praise for starring in the crime thriller Wazir and the comedy drama Dil Dhadakne Do.

Early life and background
Farhan Akhtar was born to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani in Mumbai. His sister is writer–director Zoya Akhtar. His parents divorced during his early days, and his father married Shabana Azmi in 1984. Akhtar has termed his parents as the "harshest" critics in his career, and also considered Robert De Niro as an "inspiration" in the film industry.

His great grand father, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, a scholar of Islamic studies and theology, notably edited the first diwan of Mirza Ghalib on his request, and later became an important figure during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in his native Khairabad. He is great-grandson of renowned Urdu poet Muztar Khairabadi and grandson of Jan Nisar Akhtar. He is also the cousin of Farah Khan and Sajid Khan. He did his schooling in Maneckji Cooper school in Mumbai and went on to study a law degree in the HR College, also in Mumbai, during which he was dismissed from the institution in his second year due to lack of attendance. His next few years were spent mostly just watching movies.