Farhan Akhtar

Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and singer who works in Hindi films. Born to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he established the production company Excel Entertainment, along with Ritesh Sidhwani, in 1999. Akhtar made his directorial the debut with the coming-of-age film Dil Chahta Hai (2001), receiving critical acclaim for portraying realistic modern Indian youth, and winning the National Award for Best Hindi Film and Filmfare Awards for Best Film (Critics) and Best Screenplay. He then directed the war film Lakshya (2004), the action thriller Don (2006) and its sequel Don 2 (2011). As an actor, Akhtar made his screen debut with the musical drama Rock On!! (2008), for which he won a second National Film Award for Best Hindi Film (as producer) as well as the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He starred in, wrote the dialogues for, and produced the buddy-road film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), which won him Filmfare Awards for Best Film, Best Supporting Actor and Best Dialogue. Akhtar then portrayed athlete Milkha Singh in the biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. His subsequent roles were in the family drama Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), the crime thriller Wazir (2016), and the dramas The Sky Is Pink (2019) and Toofaan (2021).