As Farhan Akhtar celebrates his 52nd birthday on January 9, it is worth revisiting a career that has quietly shaped modern Hindi cinema across multiple fronts, as a director, writer, actor, producer and singer.
Son of lyricist Javed Akhtar and writer Honey Irani, Farhan entered the film industry with a debut that few first-timers can match in impact or legacy.
A National Award-winning debut that changed friendships
Farhan Akhtar was only 27 when he directed Dil Chahta Hai in the year 2001, which was a coming-of-age film and marked the rewriting of the code of friendship in Bollywood cinema. Featuring a star cast of Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna, it took home the National Award for Best Hindi Film, which established Farhan Akhtar as a director to look out for.
Films Farhan Akhtar has directed: Small list, big impact
Farhan’s directorial filmography is selective but influential. After Dil Chahta Hai, he returned with Lakshya (2004), a coming-of-age war drama starring Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta. In 2008, he directed Rock On!!, which marked his acting debut as well and played a key role in reviving the rock music scene in Hindi cinema. He followed it up with Don (2006) and Don 2 (2011), stylish action thrillers starring Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra, which modernised the classic franchise for a new audience.
Box office performance
Commercially, Farhan Akhtar’s directorial ventures have seen steady success. Dil Chahta Hai earned around Rs 38 crore worldwide on a modest budget. Lakshya did moderately well and raked in around Rs 42 crore. Don became an unprecedented success at the box office with worldwide collections over Rs 100 crore. Don 2 followed, doing even better with worldwide collections over Rs 200 crore. Rock On!!, which had a small budget, raked in around Rs 30 crore.
Farhan, who was last seen in 120 Bahadur, is returning to the director's chair with Don 3. Another multi-starrer, Jee Le Zara, is also in the pipeline. On the production front, Farhan and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment is gearing up for the release of the Mirzapur movie.
