Zoya Akhtar

• Beautiful cinematography and production design
• Focuses on different issues within society
• Self-realization of the character in the movie
• Mix of tradition and modernity

Zoya Akhtar is an Indian director and screenwriter. After graduating from NYU, she worked as assistant directors, Mira Nair, Dev Benegal and even with her own brother, Farhan Akhtar. She directed her first movie, Luck By Chance, which was critically acclaimed but did not do well in the box office. She has also directed the movies, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Dhakdane Do. She also worked on digital content like the anthology film Lust Stories and was a writer for Made in Heaven. Her recent film, Gully Boy, was a box office hit and won many awards as well. Gully Boy was India's entry for the Oscar award for Best International Feature Film.

In her movies, Akhtar was known as the princess of posh people's pain according to many critics. However, if one looks within her movies, they can see the different elements that is relatable to a lot of people. Akhtar focuses more on the characters of the film and what they go through. She is able to portray the emotions of these characters almost perfectly. Her filmmaking is very unique and her choice of actors make their performances shine.

"Zoya Akhtar keeps her movies layered. For a person willing to look for light-hearted entertainment, she fills her movies with sweet instances of laughter and delight. For a person, who is looking for character depth and emotion, she provides them with nuanced characters and authentic performances and for a nerd, she provides references to her past work through dialogues and songs." - Hardik Jaimini

"Even the not-so-easy-to-like characters are shown as believable and full of heart -- be it the shrewd rising star (Farhan Akhtar) in Luck By Chance, or the over-possessive fiancée (Kalki) and selfish father (Naseeruddin Shah) in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. You care about the characters even when they are up to no good." - Anand Vaishnav