Farhan Akhtar

Farhan Akhtar was born to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani in Bombay (present-day 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 the "harshest" critics in his career, and also considered Robert De Niro as an "inspiration" in the film industry. Akhtar is of Zoroastrian Irani origin, from his mother's side. Akhtar grew up in an agnostic environment and along with his sister Zoya and father Javed Akhtar; he does not believe in any religion.

Akhtar made his writing and directorial debut with the critically acclaimed film Dil Chahta Hai (2001), produced by Excel Entertainment, a production company he established along with Ritesh Sidhwani in 1999. It was shot over a period of three months in Sydney, Goa and Mumbai. Due to its acclaim, he called it a "turning point" in his career. The film dealt with the lives of westernised urban youth in Mumbai. Akhtar had written the script based on his trips to Goa and New York, as well as a narration of a story outline by a friend of his. It received international critical acclaim and attained an iconic status, with Akhtar receiving credit for starting a "new wave" in Indian cinema. Critic Ziya Us Salam praised Akhtar's direction and commented for The Hindu: "In his maiden venture, Javed Akhtar’s son shows enough glimpses of his pedigree to indicate that promise will attain fulfilment sooner than later." Various award shows conferred accolades on the film and nominated it for several categories. The year's National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for 2002 was won by the film. It was also screened at the International Film Festival of India, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and the Austin Film Festival. In the same year, he and his sister Zoya Akhtar assisted their father in writing the English lyrics of a song in Lagaan, for which the soundtrack was scored by A. R. Rahman.

He married Adhuna Bhabani in 2000, after being in a relationship with her for 3 years. They first met during the filming of his directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai, which also marked Adhuna's debut as a Bollywood hairstylist. The couple have two daughters named Shakya and Akira. On 21 January 2016, the couple officially announced their separation after 16 years of marriage.

In 2006, Akhtar directed, produced and wrote the screenplay of Don starring Shah Rukh Khan in the title role, a remake of 1978 film Don, starring Amitabh Bachchan. It marked his first project holding the status of a remake. The character of Don became iconic and popular. Despite this, he noted that he did not mean to be a "torchbearer of the remake brigade" and did not feel comfortable with being credited for the trend of remakes in the film industry. The film released on 20 October 2006 and was declared a "hit" at the box office, grossing around ₹1.05 billion (equivalent to ₹2.7 billion or US$38 million in 2019) worldwide. It became widely known for its script lines. However, critics predominantly condemned Akhtar's direction and screenplay. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama said Akhtar had "climbed the ladder as far as craftsmanship is concerned [every frame is well decorated and makes a spellbinding impact] but despite a readymade classic at his disposal, the storyteller just doesn't get it right this time."

In 2007, Akhtar produced the film Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., directed by debutant Reema Kagti and starring Abhay Deol, Minissha Lamba, Shabana Azmi and Boman Irani. The music for the film was composed by Vishal-Shekhar, marking their first collaboration with him. Akhtar was supposed to make his acting debut with the project, but he had to be replaced by Abhay Deol as he was involved with Don. The film was financed and funded by Exim Bank. This was the first time Excel Entertainment collaborated with a different director as all their previous projects had been involving Akhtar as a director. The story of the film revolved around six couples who went to Goa on a honeymoon. The film opened up on 23 February and received mixed reviews from critics, and ended up with an "average" box office result.

In 2008, Akhtar made his solo acting and singing debut in a musical film titled Rock On!!, for which he wrote the script and also produced. The film was directed by Abhishek Kapoor. Prachi Desai, Arjun Rampal and Purab Kohli co-starred along with him. As he had been learning guitar ever since the start of his directing career, he had been well-versed with it and used it for the film. The role played by him was that of Aditya, lead singer of the rock band "Magik". He sang five songs for the soundtrack album. The film was acclaimed by critics and received positive reviews upon release. Gaurav Malani of The Economic Times wrote that the film seemed to be "clearly designed by Farhan Akhar as his own acting debut and he doesn't let himself down. Lending voice to all his songs helps him to get into his character with effortless ease. One could certainly overlook the lisp in his dialogue delivery." Manish Gajjar of BBC wrote of his performance: "Director-turned-actor, Farhan Aktar surprises all with his superb, flawless performance, transforming from a hippy-style lead-singer to a subdued, dismal workaholic banker." Akhtar received several accolades for his debut performance. The film, in addition won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. However, it did not create an impact at the box office and turned out to be an "average" grosser.

After refusing an offer to sing a song for A. R. Rahman's album Blue, Akhtar acted in, and produced his sister Zoya's directorial and written debut Luck By Chance, which had Hrithik Roshan and Konkona Sen Sharma in the lead roles. He was cast in the film after being deemed as a "perfect choice" for it. The story of the film revolved around a struggling actor who arrives in Mumbai to become a film star. It was released on 30 January 2009. Though failing to do well at the box office and being declared a "flop", the film received generally positive reviews from critics. Neil Genzlinger from The New York Times said: "It is Mr. Akhtar whose understated performance holds together this far-ranging, cameo-filled film. He manages to remain sympathetic even while wreaking romantic havoc." Rajeev Masand noted: "Farhan Akhtar delivers a simple-enough likeable performance that is just what the film required — no showy flourishes, no loud outbursts, just a straight off spontaneous act that works like a dream."

Akhtar's first project in 2011 was the drama thriller Game, directed by Abhinay Deo. The lead cast consisted of Abhishek Bachchan, Kangana Ranaut, Boman Irani and Jimmy Shergill. He wrote the script and produced the venture. The film received highly negative reviews after release, with critics panning almost all the aspects of it. At the box office, it had a poor opening, and later resulted in giving losses for the distributors, due to a heavily negative word-of-mouth. It was described as a "washout" by trade analysts.

Men Against Rape and Discrimination or MARD is a social campaign launched by Akhtar. The idea came to the mind of Akhtar when in August 2012, Pallavi Purkayastha, a lawyer by profession, was sexually assaulted by her watchman and then killed by him.

Following Don 2, His next, a biopic on Indian athlete Milkha Singh, popularly known as 'the Flying Sikh', was entitled 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'. He essayed the role with such integrity that it set the standard for other actors considering to play titular protagonists in biopics. Akhtar swept all awards that year for 'Best Actor' as did the film for 'Best Film'. It also claimed the National award for 'Best Popular Film providing Wholesome Entertainment.'. He also had to prepare his looks to depict a 17-year-old army recruit and endure an on-the-spot preparation at an army cantonment. In 2014, Akhtar acted for the romantic comedy Shaadi Ke Side Effects alongside Vidya Balan, a film directed by Saket Chaudhary and produced by Pritish Nandy. It was a sequel to Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006).

In 2016, Akhtar played the lead role of an Anti Terrorist Squad officer in Bejoy Nambiar's Wazir. It was his first action role as an actor, and for which he went through intense physical training and put on eight kilograms of weight. Raja Sen in his review called him "pretty good [..] early on in the film, but his performance starts to unravel once the film hits hysterical gear and he is required to do more than frown." Akhtar also sang the duet "Atrangi yaari" with Amitabh Bachchan for Wazir. The film was a box-office success. Akhtar's final release of the year was the rock musical drama Rock on 2, a sequel to the 2008 critically acclaimed Rock On!!. He reprised his role of Aditya Shroff, the lead singer of his band. The film was Akhtar's attempt to bring northeast India into popular culture.

In 2017, Akhtar essayed the role of a Dawood Ibrahim-alike mafia don Maqsood in Daddy, co-starring Arjun Rampal. His next release was the ensemble drama Lucknow Central, co-starring Diana Penty, Gippy Grewal and Deepak Dobriyal. The film was about a prison escape drama planned by a group of prisoners who also form a music band and was inspired by a real incident. Lucknow Central was released on 15 September 2017 and met with mixed reviews and financial failure.

Following Luck By Chance, Akhtar acted in a film titled The Fakir of Venice, which was initially scheduled to release before Rock on!! and was supposed to be his acting debut. Due to several delays, it was premiered at the 2009 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. It was written and directed by Anand Surapur, and accepted by Akhtar after he described its script as "very powerful", while emphasising that it "touches upon weaknesses and confusions in all human beings." Before release, it premiered at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, and the Venice Film Festival at the ArcLight Hollywood. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film and felt that "Akhtar, a producer, director and writer making his film debut here as an actor, is talented and handsome enough – and with looks that could translate into any number of ethnicities – to have a huge career ahead of him." The film was released theatrically in India on 8 February 2019.