A biography for Zoya Akhtarhasn’t been written yet.
“As cinema is a reflection of the world around us, with more women coming into the mainstream business, more women narratives will grab the limelight.”
“I love music, but can't hold a note in a bucket. I can't sing, can't play an instrument.”
“I like hip-hop personally. It is a genre I am very attached to and have been listening to all my life. But I have always engaged with foreign artistes, never with mainstream Indian hip-hop rap space.”
“I have a phobia. I have a serious phobia of rodents. I don't even like white mice, hamsters.”
“I want to do all kind of films. I don't want to be bracketed into one kind of cinema and if somebody does that, then it is on them.”
“I definitely want a partner and would like to spend the rest of my life with somebody, but I don't care if am married or not.”
“This is kind of a dual existence where you are harsh but at the same time emotional. You are there because you have experienced trauma.”
“I had the best shooting experience in Dharavi. People are so cooperative and busy with their work that they don't have time to be star struck.”
“In 'Gully Boy', of course, Ranveer Singh's performance has largely decided what the songs will look and feel like.”
“My biggest challenge was when I had my first panic attack at 27. It's not something you can ignore, you can't sit around and get sucked into a rabbit hole.”
“I've grown up in the film industry and I've been watching them, analyzing them, laughing at them, totally understanding them and getting their point of view, and, at times, taking up for them. So I'm part of it and it's part of me.”
“I think there is nothing more important in forming a human being than your family. It is how you have been brought up and been taken care of that eventually is how you will deal with and treat the world.”
“As film makers or any artiste that put work out there, what you are doing on your level is that you are putting consciousness out into the world.”
“I feel like all my films have my politics. As a film-maker, whatever story you're telling, your value system comes out.”
“I'm a writer, so I like nuances.”
“The whole class system has oppressed so many people and given them such lack of opportunity. They are fed such strong narratives that this is where you belong and this is where you are.”
“Some of my characters are drawn from people I know whereas others are an amalgamation of people or one specific person. Sometimes a character is simply fictional. It is always a mix.”
“I was an executive producer. I've done a lot of jobs and I think each one helps you get closer to what you want as a director. It also helps you - when you work with different filmmakers - to absorb, to adapt, to know what to watch out for, to know pitfalls.”
“Who will you replace Dibakar Banerjee with? There isn't another one.”
“Even though 'Luck By Chance' is set in the film industry, the lead characters are people you know and see, but they are not your friends.”