Javed Akhtar is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civilian honours.
Farhan Akhtar is an Indian actor, filmmaker, writer, dialogue writer, singer and songwriter who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani after establishing a production company named Excel Entertainment along with Ritesh Sidhwani in 1999, made his directorial debut with the coming-of-age comedy-drama Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and received widespread critical acclaim for portraying realistic modern Indian youth in the film, which won the National Award for Best Hindi Film and the Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics). Following this, he directed the cult war film Lakshya (2004) and made his Hollywood debut through the soundtrack of Bride and Prejudice (2004), for which he and sister Zoya Akhtar served as lyricists. Next came the commercially successful Don (2006), his third directorial venture, post which he directed a short film titled Positive (2007) to spread awareness on HIV-AIDS.
Zoya Akhtar is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. Born to Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, she completed a diploma in filmmaking from NYU and assisted directors Mira Nair, Tony Gerber and Dev Benegal, before becoming an independent writer and director. She is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. Akhtar, along with Reema Kagti, founded Tiger Baby Films, a film and web studio in October 2015.
Lakshya is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age war drama film directed by Farhan Akhtar and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani. The film stars Hrithik Roshan, Amitabh Bachchan and Preity Zinta in lead roles. Based on a story by the director's father on the 1999 Kargil War, the film is about Karan Shergill, an aimless, lazy young man and the son of a wealthy businessman from Delhi, who joins the Indian Army and matures into a battlefield hero just as war breaks out.
Deepti Naval is an Indian-American actress, director, and writer, predominantly active in Hindi cinema.
Luck by Chance is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Zoya Akhtar in her directorial debut. Produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, it stars Farhan Akhtar and Konkana Sen Sharma in lead roles, with Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Kapoor, Isha Sharvani, Alyy Khan and Sheeba Chaddha in pivotal supporting roles. Hrithik Roshan makes an extended cameo appearance. Guest stars and industry folk starring as themselves included Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Akshaye Khanna, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra, Ranbir Kapoor, John Abraham, Vivek Oberoi, Rajkumar Hirani, Boman Irani and Anurag Kashyap in cameos. The film shows the journey of an aspiring actor who arrives in Mumbai to become a movie star. How he finds himself riding his fortune to becoming one, while struggling to sustain his relationships, forms the story.
Excel Entertainment is an Indian production company, founded by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar in Mumbai in 1999, they mainly produce Hindi films.
Arjun Mathur is a British-Indian actor working predominantly in Hindi films, web series and television serials. He was seen internationally in the British drama series Indian Summers and plays the lead character in the Amazon Original series Made in Heaven, the latter of which earned him an International Emmy award nomination for Best Actor.
Apurva Asrani is an Indian filmmaker. He has written the human rights drama Aligarh (2016), the courtroom drama Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors (2020), has co-written & edited the film Shahid (2013), has edited the popular gangster film Satya (1998) & also the webseries Made in Heaven (2019).
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, also abbreviated as ZNMD, is a 2011 Hindi-language coming-of-age adventure comedy film directed by Zoya Akhtar and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under Excel Entertainment. The film stars an ensemble cast of Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin. A co-production between India and Spain, it was filmed in Spain, India and the United Kingdom on a budget of ₹45 crore. The music and background score are composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy with lyrics by Javed Akhtar.
Reema Kagti is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Hindi film industry. She made her debut as a director in the critically acclaimed Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), which was followed by the neo-noir, Talaash (2012) and the historical sports drama Gold (2018). Reema along with Zoya Akhtar founded Tiger Baby Films, a film and web studio, in October 2015.
"Señorita" (transl. Miss) is a song from the 2011 Indian film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. It was composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and performed by Farhan Akhtar, Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol and Spanish singer María del Mar Fernández. The lyrics were penned by Javed Akhtar. The Latino-flavoured Spanish flamenco song is about being yourself and having fun.
Adhuna Bhabani is an English hair stylist and the co-host of BBLUNT, which airs on TLC.
Arjun Bhasin is an Indian costume designer and stylist, who works both in Hindi cinema as well as Hollywood. He is most noted for his work in Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Rang De Basanti (2006), and has done international films like Monsoon Wedding (2001), The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012) and Life of Pi (2012). He has also remained the fashion editor of GQ India.
Dil Dhadakne Do is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under the Excel Entertainment banner. The film has an ensemble cast of Anil Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Shefali Shah and Farhan Akhtar with a voice-over narration by Aamir Khan. The supporting cast includes Rahul Bose, Zarina Wahab, Vikrant Massey, Pawan Chopra, Parmeet Sethi, Dolly Mattdo and Manoj Pahwa. The film tells the story of the Mehras, a dysfunctional family who invite their family and friends on a 10 day cruise trip to celebrate the parents' 30th wedding anniversary and later reconcile.
Baar Baar Dekho is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language science-fiction romantic drama film directed by Nitya Mehra which marks her debut in Hindi cinema. It is produced by Karan Johar and Farhan Akhtar under Dharma Productions and Excel Entertainment respectively. The film stars Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra with Ram Kapoor and Sarika playing supporting roles.
Emmay Entertainment and Motion Pictures LLP is an Indian content production company based in Mumbai, India. It was founded by Nikkhil Advani, Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani in 2011. After its inception, it began with full-length feature films and gradually expanded to television, short films, telefilms and digital content.
Made In Heaven is an Indian romantic drama television series that premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 8 March 2019. Produced by Excel Entertainment, the series chronicles the lives of Tara and Karan, two wedding planners in Delhi running an agency named Made in Heaven. The series is Amazon Video’s fourth original fictional Indian series and stars Sobhita Dhulipala, Arjun Mathur, Jim Sarbh, Shashank Arora, Kalki Koechlin and Shivani Raghuvanshi.
Tiger Baby is an Indian film production company owned by film directors Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. The company was founded in October 2015.
Unpaused is an Indian Hindi-language anthology film consisting of five short segments directed by Raj & DK, Nitya Mehra, Nikkhil Advani, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Avinash Arun. With an ensemble cast, the stories revolved around lives of people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It premiered on 18 December 2020 on Amazon Prime Video.
