At the London Indian Film Festival, which closed on Thursday, Farhan Akhtar regaled a full house at the BFI Southbank with tales of his career and his vision for Bollywood.
The 40-year-old director, producer, actor and singer has had a stellar 2013, winning nearly every Indian award on the circuit for his performance as the athlete Milkha Singh in the biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (Run Milkha Run).
Before he went on stage, Akhtar talked to The National about his forthcoming films, new projects and his work with MARD (Men Against Rape and Discrimination), a movement he started in 2013 in response to the recent high-profile rapes in India.
He is clad in a plain T-shirt and jeans, in keeping with his mild-mannered personality and casual manner, traits that have endeared him to fans worldwide.
Akhtar arrived in London last week having just finished filming Dil Dhadakne Do, a story about a dysfunctional Punjabi family who go on a cruise in the Mediterranean. Due out in June next year, the movie is directed by his sister, the filmmaker Zoya Akhtar. It was she who coaxed a breakthrough performance from her brother in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011). The ensemble cast boasts some big names: Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah.
"In Dil Dhadakne Do I play a character called Sunny. He is a journalist who appears only towards the second half of the movie," says Akhtar. "He is the ex-boyfriend of the character played by Priyanka. It's a supporting part but at the same time very important to the film."
The action takes place on board a ship – Akhtar had been busy tweeting images of the beautiful landscapes during the first few days – but he says that soon got old. “The first 10 days were fun but we were on a cruise and it was doing the same loop for five weeks, and so I think by week two everybody was a little tired of the same scenery.”
The film is being produced by Akhtar's company Excel Films, which last week announced it will be producing Bangistan, a "terrorist comedy" directed by Karan Anshuman and rumoured to be based on the British dark comedy Four Lions from 2010, which is about a group of incompetent jihadists.
But Akhtar says the comedy is more Monty Python and reveals that he is a big fan of the troupe and had watched their UK show the night before. "I loved their movies and I discovered the Flying Circus show much later," says Akhtar. "I feel they are so relevant, even now, especially compared with India, where you can see what is going on in entertainment: there is such a clampdown and censorship of what you can and can't talk about."
For the rest of the year, Akhtar is acting in two films back to back. One is written and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, directed by Bejoy Nambiar and co-stars Amitabh Bachchan. In particular, Akhtar is looking forward to working with Bachchan, who reportedly plays a bedridden chess master in the film: “Just to work closely with him as an actor will be a huge learning experience for me,” says Akhtar.
Akhtar reportedly replaced Shah Rukh Khan in Nambiar's production, but the two actors will soon be working together in Rahul Dholaka's Raees (Rich), an action drama set in the Indian state of Gujarat, in which Khan plays a bootlegger and Akhtar a cop.
As a director, Akhtar is known for the Don films (inspired by Bachchan's 1978 blockbuster of the same name) he made with Khan in the title role. A third film in the franchise is on the horizon, but Akhtar is planning to work on something else in the summer of next year. "As a director I'd like to experience another sort of film," he says. "The film that I have in mind is a period drama set in India in 1905. In terms of the content, I feel it's definitely going to be something that appeals to everyone, regardless of culture and language."
He says there also are exciting developments happening with MARD. “We have associated with Magic Bus, an NGO that is making an effort to educate children, especially girls, in areas where education isn’t prevalent,” he explains. “This is not because there aren’t any schools, but because their parents choose not to send them. We are hoping to raise funds for Magic Bus so that more families will educate their daughters.”
One of the ways he plans to raise money is with the September release of a song titled Choole Asmaan (Reach for the skies) he has recorded with the Indian musician duo Salim and Sulaiman. Then the superstar, friendly as ever, pulls out his phone and gives me an impromptu private preview.
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
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