MUMBAI: Farhan Akhtar, the versatile actor, filmmaker, and musician, has offered a candid insight into the professional limbo and personal challenges he faced due to the prolonged postponement of his ambitious film, Jee Le Zaraa.
The road-trip movie, which promised to bring together three major female stars—Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, and Alia Bhatt—has been stuck in development since its announcement in 2021.
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During a recent interview, Akhtar revealed how the continuous date shifts for the film, which was intended to mark his return to the director's chair after over a decade (since Don 2 in 2011), forced him to put his career on hold.
The primary hurdle remains the difficulty in aligning the highly sought-after schedules of its three leading ladies, leading to the project being pushed indefinitely.
Akhtar admitted that he deliberately cleared his professional calendar for over two years, waiting for the film to start, a decision that eventually became a source of immense stress and self-doubt.
He elaborated on this period, stating, “So my film Toofan was released in 2021, and right after that, I was set to direct a film called Jee Le Zaraa.
It just kept getting delayed, and for those two years, I kept saying no to all other opportunities that came my way. I did that because when you have to direct, you can only focus on that.
If an acting role came, I told them, 'No, I am soon going to be directing'.”
This prolonged wait for a project that never materialised began to affect his mental well-being.
The filmmaker confessed that the idle time and constant uncertainty triggered deep personal insecurities. He said, “The date for the film's shooting just kept shifting ahead.
It was such a stressful period because I thought that I was wasting time, and before I knew it, two and a half years had gone by.”
He further shared the vulnerability he felt, linking the delay to self-questioning about his directorial ability.
“There are some personal insecurities as well. I started feeling that maybe people thought that I wouldn't be able to direct.
It had been 12 years since I had directed a film, and maybe people would doubt my skills. When you sit with a therapist and you tell these things, you start realising where all these things are coming from.”
Despite the challenges, Akhtar confirmed that the script for Jee Le Zaraa, which he co-wrote with Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, remains "too delicious" to abandon.
Although the film is currently "put on a back burner," he confirmed it is not shelved.
However, he hinted at the potential for a change in casting due to the persistent timing issues, stating that he cannot comment on the cast anymore.
In the meantime, Akhtar has focused his attention on other ventures, notably his next directorial commitment, Don 3, which is scheduled to begin production next year.
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CREDIT: News 18
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