For Farhan Akhtar acting was not an option when he joined industry 10 years ago, but look he just walked away with the Film-fare Best Actor Award for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

"When I started out I was very categorical that I only wanted to write, direct and produce films with my friend and partner Ritesh (Sidhwani)," he says. And that was how it was till early 2007 when Abhishek Kapoor came to him with the role of Aditya Shroff in Rock On!!

By then he had proved his mettle as a director with films like Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya and Don--The Chase Begins and wowed by the script, Farhan said yes to his first turn in front of the camera because "it was a world and music he could identify with".

His performance as Aditya, a musician who gives up the mike before returning to his true passion, was well received. So when his sister, Zoya Akhtar, confided that she was shelving her dream debut Luck By Chance because her seven-year-long search for a hero proved futile, Farhan offered to step into the shoes of both the leading man and the producer.

Karthik Calling Karthik in 2010, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara in 2011 followed-- this time Zoya had written the role of Imran with him in mind. Then Bhaag Milkha Bhaag came last year and suddenly, Farhan isn't just an applauded actor but a saleable one too.


This year he's working in three films. Shaadi Ke Side Effects opens on February 28. Bombay Samurai with Kareena Kapoor and without Samurai swords will roll soon, and Raees co-starringShah Rukh Khan will follow. There's also a third film with Zoya, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's film withAmitabh Bachchan to be directed by Bejoy Nambiar and the Rock On!! sequel.

Farhan's plate is piled high which is perhaps why he's announced a break from direction for two years. But, he has two fully developed scripts-one which he has written and another he has co- written along with a third one which yet to be completed.