Zoya Akhtar Is On A Roll!

One of India’s finest writer-directors opens up to Cosmo Ed Nandini Bhalla about the body of work she aspires to create (not counting the incredible league of films she already has to her credit!), her formative years, and the social media platform that has her hooked.

- Nandini Bhalla

Zoya Akhtar is in a good place. We meet a few days after her return from Berlin—where Gully Boy premiered at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, and Cameron Bailey Tweeted that he had never seen such an overwhelming response to a film in 20 years.

A week later, when the Alia BhattRanveer Singh starrer dropped into India cinemas, the reviews were electric, nay, thunderous (fellow director Karan Johar declared Gully Boy a ‘MASTERPIECE’ (in all-caps, by the way), and millions agreed as box office numbers racked up.

“Yes, a lot of people have called and messaged...” Zoya smiles. She’s keeping it casual, I suspect, so I prod for more. “My phone is on fire!” she laughs, “It’s crazy, it’s been pretty crazy...”

Zoya and I are crammed into a tiny make-up room, and I am chatting with her while the make-up artist is applying a light coat of foundation. Zoya has made it clear, in advance, that the make-up must be “natural”. She has one eye on how her hair is being styled (“natural and bouncy”), and when the Cosmo stylist stops by to show her some garments for the cover shoot, she makes it clear that she wants to wear this and not that.

“I mean, I’ll wear it if you want, but I don’t like it because it’s not me,” she says about an electric-hued pantsuit.

But nobody seems to mind. Because there’s something about Zoya—a sunny smile, a warm demeanour with bits of wry humour thrown in, and a piercingly intelligent mind (and mouth)—that makes her very, very likable. And did I mention that she says it exactly like it is? More points.

As a young girl, Zoya was a bit like “Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family.”

The room is amused.

“I was a little strange,” she laughs.