The Archie comics come to the Indian Netflix space, thanks to writer-director Zoy Akhtar’s 60s-era musical romance The Archies. While the movie has polarized some audiences, the Netflix original definitely proves Akhtar’s eye for vibrant set designs and stylish costumes. But her far more superior works in the past like her stunning directorial debut Luck By Chance, the road comedy Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and the urban hip-hop saga Gully Boy prove her mastery over multiple genres.
Zoya Akhtar and her frequent collaborators
As important as Akhtar’s attention to detail is her tendency to collaborate with some of contemporary Bollywood’s smartest game-changers such as her co-producer and co-writer Reema Kagti. Her brother Farhan Akhtar who has starred in three of her films and also written the dialogues for The Archies is another crucial partner in her team. Ranveer Singh is another prominent collaborator with Akhtar having directed some of the best Ranveer Singh movies like Gully Boy and Dil Dhadakne Do.
Beyond Bollywood: OTT shows and short films
With five feature films to her name, Akhat has also immersed herself in numerous other creative projects such as the Prime Video series Made In Heaven which she co-created with Reema Kagti. One of the most mainstream Indian Prime originals, Made In Heaven revolves around the titular wedding organiser agency with some episodes directed by Akhtar herself.
Together with her filmmaking peers like Anurag Kashyap and Karan Johar, she has also helmed short films for three anthologies: Bombay Talkies, Lust Stories and Ghost Stories. Her best work in these anthologies perhaps comes from the first two examples as her claustrophobic horror short paled in comparison with the other chapters of Ghost Stories.
Her Bombay talkies film “Sheila Ki Jawaani” opened up a heartwarming conversation on parenting children who might not subscribe to heteronormative notions of society. Akhatr’s Lust Stories segment was equally powerful in its social message as it played around the relationship between a bachelor and his domestic helper. While the duo share an intimate bond, their social class differences come in between when it comes to their future.
Why is Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara the best Zoya Akhtar film?
Zoya Akhtar has occasionally been judged for helming only elite narratives, a complaint she has already quashed with works like Luck By Chance which detailed an outsider’s struggle in the film industry, and Gully Boy, a rags-to-riches story of a Mumbai rapper. Regardless of the social subtext in these two films, they excel as some of Bollywood’s finest works that are rich in artistic merit and are melodramatic enough to be enjoyed by all audiences.
And yet, it is her buddy road comedy-drama Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (aka ZNMD) that can be regarded as her finest. Detailing the bachelor trip of three childhood friends (Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol), ZNMD is a new-age cult classic. Boasting Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s memorable songs and quotable dialogues, Akhtar manages to fill her 2011 film with laugh-out-loud banter between the friends along with some heavily emotional commentary on absent fathers, unstable relationships and the qualms of adulting.
With most of the shooting wrapped up in Spain, Carlos Catalan’s atmospheric cinematography brings out some of the country’s best sights from the beaches to the tomato-squashing La Tomatina festival to an adrenaline-fueled bull chase. It’s only ironic that one of the most beautiful movies set in Spain is a Bollywood blockbuster, one that captures the frustrations and desires of post-globalisation India.
Where can you stream Zoya Akhtar’s filmography?
Some of Zoya Akhtar’s films are Netflix originals while others are available on Prime Video.
