Farhan Akhtar speaks about Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

By Subhash K. Jha

Date: February 19, 2011

Lately away from media focus, actor-director-singer-producer Farhan Akhtar speaks to Subhash K Jha

Do you get to spend enough time with your daughters?

How do you define 'enough'? They're happy children. The older one is a lot aware of what I do. She has begun to understand what I do. As of now she's more reactive to the music in my cinema. Even the younger one loves the Rock On music. Now both my daughters are into the music of Zoya's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD).

In 2010 you were directed by your sister Zoya in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD). How was the experience?

Yeah, all of us-Zoya, Hrithik, Abhay, Katrina, Kalki and me…became this little commune travelling across Spain. We travelled a lot. Spain has everything from beaches to mountains. So far only Bollywood songs have been shot in Spain. There's a serious change in topography as you drive through. The important thing was for us to look like we belong to one group

All of you do look very Hispanic?

(Thinks) Come to think of it we do have a similar skin-tone and hair. And the Spanish crew was wonderful. What's most important is that we were working with like-minded people. We made sure every scene was fun. Abhay, Hrithik and I spent a lot of time together. We really had some serious fun. Hrithik I knew for a long time. Abhay I got to know during this film. He's a very cool guy.

ZNMD looks like the last part of your trilogy on male bonding after Dil Chahta Hai and Rock On?

Funny, you say that. And why the last? No, I don't have any major fascination with cinema on male bonding. Dil Chahta Hai is the only script I wrote on the theme. Gattu (Abhishek Kapoor) wrote Rock On a fab script about a rock band. Zoya's script for ZNMD is about three guys on the verge of making commitments in life.

Don't you think Abhishek Kapoor and Zoya were influenced by Dil Chahta Hai?

They never told me. I never asked them. I know both liked Dil Chahta Hai very much.

How was it being directing by your sister a second time?

In Zoya's Luck By Chance I was a sneaky social climber. In ZNMD it's a sea-change. I play this guy who for the longest time takes nothing seriously. I am not even rich and I don't pretend to be. I'm just happy being the way I am. I got to just let my hair down. Many moments in this film gave me a chance to have lots of fun. After Rock On, Luck By Chance and Kartik Calling Kartik which were all serious angst-laden characters in ZNMD I play a fun character.

So you had fun doing the film?

Not just me. All of us. It was the nature of the script. There was so much improvisation. There was only so much that could be put on paper. So yeah we did improvise. We participated in the Tomatino festival in Spain.

And a bull fight?

Let me clarify that once and for all. There's no bullfight in ZNMD. We had animal-rights organizations questioning us about it. We sent them a letter saying there was no such thing. We did participate in a Running With The Bulls festival. No bulls got injured in that. We shot it in a completely controlled environment. We plan to release it at the end of May.

What about your singing?

All three of us Hrithik, Abhay and I, have sung in ZNMD. It's a party situation. It seemed interesting to lend our own voices to our characters. It's turned out really really well. I am very excited. That's the only song I've sung in a movie this year. Otherwise I am constantly singing in real life. I was singing before this interview. I'll be singing after we're done.