Early work (1996–2007) Akhtar started her career as the co-director of a music video called
Price of Bullets for a rock band called
Pentagram. She has worked as a
casting director for films including the drama
Split Wide Open (1999) and the ensemble coming-of-age comedy-drama
Dil Chahta Hai (2001), and as an
assistant director for her brother
Farhan Akhtar's films
Dil Chahta Hai and the coming-of-age war drama
Lakshya (2004). She then worked as an
executive producer for her longtime friend and associate
Reema Kagti's comedy-drama
Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), also produced by
Excel Entertainment.
Directorial debut, breakthrough and critical acclaim (2009–2013) Akhtar made her directorial debut with the drama
Luck By Chance (2009), starring her brother Farhan and
Konkona Sen Sharma in lead roles. The film tells the story of a struggling actor who breaks into the industry. It opened to widespread critical acclaim, with high praise directed towards its novel concept, story, screenplay and dialogues; however, the film had an underwhelming performance at the box-office. It earned Akhtar the inaugural
Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director, tying for the award with
Ayan Mukerji for
Wake Up Sid. In 2011, she achieved her breakthrough with the coming-of-age comedy-drama
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which stars an
ensemble cast of
Hrithik Roshan,
Farhan Akhtar,
Abhay Deol,
Katrina Kaif and
Kalki Koechlin in lead roles. The film opened to widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its novel concept, storyline and setting. It emerged as a major commercial success at the box-office, grossing ₹1.53 billion (US$19 million) worldwide, ranking as the
fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara earned Akhtar her first
Filmfare Award for Best Director. The following year, she and Kagti co-wrote the psychological crime thriller
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within (2012), starring an ensemble cast of
Aamir Khan,
Kareena Kapoor Khan,
Rani Mukerji,
Nawazuddin Siddiqui,
Rajkummar Rao and
Shernaz Patel in lead roles. The film received highly positive reviews upon release and emerged as a commercial success at the box-office. In 2013, Akhtar teamed up with
Anurag Kashyap,
Dibakar Banerjee and
Karan Johar for the anthology film
Bombay Talkies. It was made as a celebration of 100 years of
Indian cinema. Her segment titled
Sheila Ki Jawaani, told the story of a 12-year-old child who idolised Hindi film actress Katrina Kaif and aspires to be a Bollywood dancer, earned her positive reviews from critics. However, the film emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office.
Continued success and career expansion (2015–present) Glamour & Style Awards in 2016 Akhtar next directed the family comedy-drama
Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), which told the story of a dysfunctional Punjabi family. The film stars an
ensemble cast, with
Anil Kapoor as an egotistical industrialist,
Shefali Shah as his bitter socialite-wife, and
Priyanka Chopra and
Ranveer Singh as their children. The film also features
Anushka Sharma and
Farhan Akhtar as love interests of Singh and Chopra. The film opened to positive reviews from critics, and emerged as a commercial success at the box-office, grossing ₹1.44 billion (US$18 million) worldwide, ranking as the
ninth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. The same year, Akhtar, along with
Reema Kagti, founded
Tiger Baby Films, an Indian film production company. In 2018, she again teamed up with Kashyap, Banerjee and Johar for the anthology film
Lust Stories, the sequel to
Bombay Talkies, which premiered on
Netflix in June 2018. Her segment in the film, about the sexual relationship between a bachelor (
Neil Bhoopalam) and his maid (
Bhumi Pednekar), received positive reviews. In 2019, Akhtar directed the musical drama
Gully Boy starring
Ranveer Singh and
Alia Bhatt in lead roles. The film was loosely based on the lives of Mumbai rappers
Naezy and
Divine. It received positive reviews from critics upon release, and emerged as a commercial success at the box-office, grossing ₹2.38 billion (US$33.8 million) worldwide, ranking as the
ninth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year. At the
65th Filmfare Awards,
Gully Boy won a record 13
Filmfare Awards, the most awards for a single film in a year, breaking the previous record of
Black (2005) with 11 wins. The film won Akhtar (along with Kagti) the
Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay, in addition to her second Filmfare Award for Best Director, thus making her the only female director to win the award twice. The same year, Akhtar and Kagti created the romantic comedy-drama web series
Made in Heaven, alongside
Nithya Mehra and
Alankrita Srivastava which told the story of two wedding planners in
New Delhi. The series, which stars an ensemble cast of
Arjun Mathur,
Sobhita Dhulipala,
Jim Sarbh,
Shashank Arora,
Kalki Koechlin and
Shivani Raghuvanshi in lead roles, was produced by
Tiger Baby Films and Excel Entertainment, and premiered on
Amazon Prime Video. The first season of the series released in 2019, followed by the second season in 2023, after several delays due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in India. The series received widespread critical acclaim, with high praise for its dark take on the Big Fat Indian Wedding. She was also invited to be a member of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2020, she reteamed with Kashyap, Banerjee and Johar for the
horror anthology film Ghost Stories, the sequel to
Lust Stories.
Ghost Stories premiered on Netflix on 1 January 2020. Her segment in the film told the story of an ailing bedridden elderly lady (
Surekha Sikri) and her nurse (
Janhvi Kapoor). Unlike its predecessors, it received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release. In 2023, she and Kagti co-created the crime thriller web series
Dahaad starring
Sonakshi Sinha,
Gulshan Devaiah,
Vijay Varma and
Sohum Shah in lead roles. The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video and received positive reviews from critics upon release. It also became the first ever Indian web series to premiere at the 2023
Berlin International Film Festival, where it competed for the Berlinale Series Award. Akhtar next directed the
live-action feature film adaptation of
The Archies which released on
Netflix on 7 December 2023. The film stars debutants Agastya Nanda,
Khushi Kapoor,
Suhana Khan,
Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja,
Aditi Saigal and Yuvraj Menda as
Archie Andrews,
Betty Cooper,
Veronica Lodge,
Reggie Mantle,
Jughead Jones,
Ethel Muggs and
Dilton Doiley respectively. It opened to negative reviews from critics and audience alike upon release. She next collaborated with Kagti, Arjun Varain Singh and Yash Sahai on the coming-of-age buddy drama
Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, directed by Singh and starring
Siddhant Chaturvedi,
Ananya Panday, and
Adarsh Gourav in lead roles. ==Filmography==