Dil Chahta Hai is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Farhan Akhtar in his directoral debut. It was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and released under the banner of Excel Entertainment, marking their cinematic debut. The film focuses on a significant transition period in the romantic lives of 3 college-graduate friends. It also stars Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni and Dimple Kapadia.
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.
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.
Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film written and directed by Reema Kagti. It is produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under Excel Entertainment and marked the debut of Reema Kagti as a director. The film is made up of six different stories.
Excel Entertainment is an Indian production company, founded by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar in Mumbai in 1999, they mainly produce Hindi films.
The 57th Filmfare Awards were held on 29 January 2012 at Film City, Mumbai honoring the best film of 2011 from the Hindi-language film industry. The ceremony was jointly hosted by Shahrukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor. Incidentally, both of them have hosted the award ceremonies previously but with different co-hosts, hence making it the first time for this pair to host the show. The 57th Filmfare awards were televised on 19 February 2012 to the public.
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.
Shernaz Patel is an Indian film and theatre actor, who works in Hindi and English films, most known for her roles in films like Black (2005) and Guzaarish (2010) and English language theatre in Mumbai. She made her theatre debut with The Diary Of Anne Frank in 1984. Since then, she has acted in several noted productions in Mumbai-based English theatre, and formed RAGE theatre group in Mumbai, with Rahul da Cunha and Rajit Kapur in 1993. She has also given voice to the character of Yashoda in the TV series Little Krishna.
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within (transl. Search) is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film written and directed by Reema Kagti, co-written by Zoya Akhtar, and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under Excel Entertainment and Aamir Khan under Aamir Khan Productions, with Reliance Entertainment serving as distributor and presenter. The film stars Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Rani Mukerji in lead roles, with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rajkummar Rao and Shernaz Patel in supporting roles.
"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.
Katrina Kaif is a British Indian actress who predominantly appears in Bollywood films. She made her film debut in the 2003 heist film Boom, a box office bomb. She then played the titular princess in the Telugu film Malliswari (2004). Kaif had her first success in Bollywood when she appeared opposite Salman Khan in David Dhawan's romantic comedy Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?. The 2006 musical romance Humko Deewana Kar Gaye saw Kaif pair opposite Akshay Kumar for the first of many films, though the film was a critical and financial failure. Beginning with Namastey London, the year 2007 marked a turning point in her career when all four releases proved to be successful at the box-office. Among these were two of the highest grossing productions of the year, the comedies Partner and Welcome. following year, Kaif appeared in three films including the action comedy Singh Is Kinng.
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.
Gully Boy is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar, and written by Akhtar and Reema Kagti. The film was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar under the banners of Tiger Baby Films and Excel Entertainment productions, with American rapper Nas as an executive producer. It stars Ranveer Singh in the title role alongside Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Vijay Varma, Amruta Subhash and Vijay Raaz in supporting roles. Inspired by the lives of Indian street rappers DIVINE and Naezy, the film is a coming-of-age story about aspiring street rapper Murad Ahmed (Singh), from the Dharavi slums of Mumbai.
Siddhant Chaturvedi is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. He starred as a teenage cricketer in the Amazon Prime Video web series Inside Edge from 2017 to 2019 and ventured into films with the supporting role of a street rapper in the musical drama Gully Boy (2019), which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has since starred in the romantic drama Gehraiyaan (2022) and the coming-of-age drama Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (2023).
Tiger Baby is an Indian film production company owned by film directors Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. The company was founded in October 2015.
Dahaad (transl. Roar) is a Hindi-language police procedural crime thriller television series created by Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar, directed by Reema Kagti and Ruchika Oberoi, and starring Sonakshi Sinha, Gulshan Devaiah, Vijay Varma and Sohum Shah. Inspired by Mohan Kumar, also known as Cyanide Mohan, a serial killer who preyed on women looking for marriage.
Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age drama film directed by Arjun Varain Singh, in his directorial debut. Written by Singh, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Akhtar, Kagti, and Farhan Akhtar under the banners of Excel Entertainment and Tiger Baby Films, the film stars Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, and Adarsh Gourav as three friends who navigate their goals and relationships against the pressures of social media. Kalki Koechlin, Anya Singh and Rohan Gurbaxani appear in supporting roles.
