Farhan Akhtar 'All Actors Are Insecure'

Eight years after Rock On!! gave us a leading man who could wield the mic and the megaphone, the sequel is ready for release. Farhan Akhtar tells Anupama Chopra why he turned down AR Rahman, while sharing plans to turn his scratch recordings into a music album.

- Anupama Chopra

Farhan Akthar, in Mumbai slang, is a ‘single piece’. He is Hindi cinema’s only director-singer-actor-producer-lyricist. Coincidentally, we meet on August 10—the day his debut film Dil Chahta Hai released, 15 years ago. Over lamb sliders, watermelon salad and tall drinks at the newly-reopened Korner House in Bandra, the prolific multi-hyphenate discusses showbiz, sequels and elusive time-offs.

Today is the 15th anniversary of the release of Dil Chahta Hain. Your IMDb page lists 18 credits for you as producer, 12 as actor, 10 as writer, five for director, four for soundtrack. What are you most proud of?

I feel proud when I see a film by Zoya [Akhtar], or Reema [Kagti], and now Nitya [Mehra]. They’ve all been assistant directors with me. Shakun [Batra] worked with me on the first Don. Mrig (Mrigdeep Singh Lamba), who made Fukrey, worked with me as an assistant as well. It feels good to be a part of their learning process. I know what they instilled in me.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Vishal Bhardwaj are other directors who also make music but I couldn’t find an actor who also directs and makes music or a director who also acts and makes music. Do these roles inform each other?

It helps. I think you do better as an actor if you know about direction. When you’re directing, there’s a certain pressure on you to achieve something in a day or to keep the set moving constantly. So when you’re there as an actor, you go in knowing what the director wants.

It’s been eight years since Rock On!! Are you a different actor now?