Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar has said she had her first panic attack when she was 27 and that she “chose to get help.”
In an elaborate post on Humans of Bombay, Zoya also talked about her close bond with brother Farhan Akhtar.
“My biggest challenge was when I had my first panic attack at 27. It’s not something you can ignore, you can’t sit around and get sucked into a rabbit hole. I chose to get help immediately. It took a while to work things out but I am fine now. You realise you have to become aware of your inner monologue. The things you say to yourself. This raised my consciousness so it was vital to my growth, I would say,” Zoya wrote.
In the post, Zoya also opened up about her family and work: “Pieces of my life, no matter how scattered, are being stitched together and reflect in my work. The biggest piece is my family, from watching films like The Godfather on our dining room wall to having a great relationship with my sibling. Or going on weekend trips with our cousins to the beach and eating all day… it’s been a crazy childhood; a ‘bohemian one.’”
Zoya made her directorial debut with Luck By Chance, which starred brother Farhan in the lead and earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Debut Director. Hrithik Roshan-Katrina Kaif-starrer Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was her next film which also starred Farhan and was well received by critics. The sibling duo has always worked together in all her films, which also included the superhit Dil Dhadakne Do.
Zoya is currently working with Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt for Gully Boy – a movie that will trace the journey of Mumbai’s street rappers.
