Kareena wants to work with Zoya Akhtar

Many filmmakers wish to work with Kareena Kapoor, but she has her eyes set on one director - Zoya Akhtar, who has scripted the actress' forthcoming film "Talaash".

"I am grateful to the directors who have cast me and that means a lot. (There are) Actors that I have worked with double times, so I consider myself lucky. But I personally love Zoya's (Akhtar) work. She is a wonderful filmmaker. I would love to work with Zoya," Kareena told in an interview.
Earlier, reports indicated that Zoya was working on a script and intended to cast Kareena and her cousin, actor Ranbir Kapoor in the movie.

However, to this, Kareena said: "She is wonderful. I hope things fall in place. I think Zoya is writing a script, (but) nothing is concrete right now."
Meanwhile, Kareena believes the "audience has become very sharp and they are liking different films."

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Zoya-Reema - new Salim-Javed of Bollywood?

Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar are known as one of the best writer-duos in the Hindi film industry and it seems the latter's daughter Zoya is likely to repeat the same success story with writing partner Reema Kagti.

The legendary duo of Salim-Javed have written some cult films like "Zanjeer", "Sholay", "Don", and "Deewar", while Zoya-Reema have scripted together "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" and "Talaash".

Asked if she and Reema are the new Salim-Javed of the industry, Zoya said: "For that we will have to deliver around 25 blockbusters... There is no chance before that. Salim-Javed were amazing and we are very far away from that."

"When we write together then the ideas are very good and we finish the work soon. We both fight too much but we have immense trust and respect for each other. If she doesn't agree to certain things, I get a signal that there is some problem. We fight but it's not about our ego problem. I love working with her," added Zoya, 40.

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If my parents were together, life would have been different

Zoya Akhtar, daughter of veteran writers Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, says she always had the mind of a writer, and she won't ever give up her passion for anything.

"The writer in me is very strong. I feel whether I direct my next film or not, that will not majorly affect my life. But no matter where I am, I can't stop writing," Zoya told.

"In school, I would always score the highest on essays. Since school, I was told that I can write," she added.

Besides, Zoya admits she always had the advantage of being Javed Akhtar's daughter.

"I only had an advantage of being his daughter because I had a special kind of upbringing. My brother and I grew up together and we never had this difference of a boy and a girl. Our exposure was very wide," she said.

Zoya says she imbibed good reading habits from her father, and a lot more from her mother, who parted ways with Javed Akhtar years ago.

"My mom was in film school when we were in school, so we used to go to FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) on weekends. She used to collect a lot of films and she used to have lot of DVDs on world cinema. So Farhan and I have seen lot of films with her."

"I have learnt swimming, cycling and camping... all this we learnt from or mother. The reading habit (is what) I got from my father. Reading, questioning, analysing, discussing... all that came from my father," she added.

Zoya says despite her parents' divorce, they had immense respect for each other.

"If my parents were together, life would have been different and now when they are not together, it's a different life. Now it's been too long. My parents' relationship is very strong, they have immense respect for each other and they are good friends."

In the meantime, Zoya is busy promoting thriller movie "Talaash", which she has scripted.

Directed by Reema Kagti, "Talaash" features Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji. It is slated to release Nov 30.

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Zoya directs adfilm to create awareness about breast cancer

After making successful film "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara", Zoya Akhtar has once again donned the director's hat, but this time for a cause. She has made a public service advertisement (PSA) that tells men to save women from breast cancer.

Titled "Because My World Is Not The Same", it aims to create awareness about breast cancer.

"I am filmmaker and just using my filmmaking skills to contribute my bit to spread awareness about the deadly disease. I don't look at it as if I am contributing towards the cause, " Zoya told.

Shot for Ogaan Cancer Foundation, the PSA goes air next week both on television and online.

Talking about the concept of the advertisement, the 37-year-old said: "The idea behind the campaign was to tell people that breast cancer is not a girl's problem. It is not something that women need to speak with only women. Every person in the family is involved when a woman faces it. It is not a woman problem, it's a humanity problem."

"We have always seen woman in advertisements saying that they are responsible for taking care of their husband and children's health. But now it's time for men to take care of women in their lives and ask them if they have got themselves checked, " she added.

The PSA features actors Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar, Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor and Abhay Deol, pledging their support for breast cancer awareness.

Zoya feels cancer does not discriminate between gender. That is why she has cast men.

Casting the five actors made sense as they have been very vocal about their relationships with the women in their lives, she adds.

"I just told boys the whole idea, they liked it and agreed to do it. I have cast them because all five of them are extremely sensitive, have a very strong relationship with women in their personal lives and have been very vocal about it.

"Taking celebrities in such causes get the eyeball. I don't know if such message get converted into action, but yes it definitely gets through. People hear them because they know them, " she added.

Made in four different lengths - 30, 40, 60, 90 seconds respectively - the advertisement has no script.

"I just put them into a large, box-like constructed area, facing the camera. They could hear my voice, and I interviewed each of them for about 20 minutes. Later I cut it into parts. There was no script, " she said.

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Zoya Akhtar directs, a PSA for awareness of breast cancer

Zoya Akhtar along with a cancer foundation has directed, scripted and conceptualised a PSA that will focus on the awareness of breast cancer.

Now here’s a twist: the PSA uses ‘men' to highlight a traditionally women's issue because they believe that men should also put their support behind this cause.

Some of Bollywood’s hottest men Abhay Deol, Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar, Ranbir Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor are already part of this dignified initiative with Zoya.

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