Javed Akhtar Reveals He was Concerned Over Zoya Directing Gully Boy

By -

NOVEMBER 27,2023

Javed Akhtar is always known for voicing his honest opinions about everything with the use of his trademark wit and logical thinking. Even when it comes to his own children working in the film industry, Javed Akhtar doesn't mince words.

In a recent interview, he revealed how he was unsure of Zoya Akhtar's choice to direct Gully Boy, which was about slum-dwelling teenagers who have a penchant for rap music.

He said, "Yeh jab bana rahi thi Gully Boy, toh mujhe lag raha tha ye kaise banayegi? Arey tum Bandstand pe rehti ho, chhuttiyon mein London, America jaya karti thi. Hong Kong jaati thi. Kahaan tumhe yeh sab ke baare mein kya malum hoga? Aisa main dil mein sochta tha. When she was making Gully Boy, I thought, 'How will she make it?' You stay in Bandstand and go for a holiday in London, America, and Hong Kong. How would you know about all this??

However, he never had the courage to tell her the same. But when Javed Akhtar watched the film himself, all his doubts went away. He said, "Magar jab maine wo film dekhi, to mujhe aisa laga ki saari zindagi ye slum mein rahi hai. Isne slum ko pee liya tha? (When I watched the film, it felt as if Zoya had stayed in slums all her life.)"

Read further: Shabana Azmi And Dharmendra's Kiss In RRKPK: Here's What Bothered Her Husband Javed Akhtar

Further, he said, "Slum ke bareek se bareek baatein, jo characters ke relationship hai, wo dikhayi deti hai. (The film portrays the minute details of the characters and their relationships quite well.)"

Gully Boy was released back in 2019 and became a hit with strong performances by Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh. It also starred Vijay Varma and Siddhant Chaturvedi, both of whom emerged as rising actors and got more work after the film's release. The film's impact was so great that it was chosen as India's official entry for the 92nd Academy Awards. It was not selected as a nominee.

Javed Akhtar had written the lyrics to some songs that became widely popular.

Zoya Akhtar's next film, The Archies, is all set to release on December 7. It has an entire cast of newcomers like Agatsya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, and Suhana Khan.

Read more: Is ZNMD 2 happening? Farhan Akhtar hints in a post