http://movies.india-today.com/features/featurejaved.shtml
A Proud Father
First Person — Javed Akhtar on his son Farhan
Dinesh Raheja
Javed Akhtar-Farhan Akhtar. Like father, like son. Writers both. And
both are now film entities, too. Javed’s contributions to the stories
and lyrics of Hindi cinema are legendary. Son Farhan has recently
launched his directorial debut, Dil Chahta Hai starring an impressive
clutch of stars like Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Saif Ali Khan, Preity
Zinta and even the ever-elusive Dimple Kapadia.
Incidentally, Javed’s ex-wife and Farhan’s mother, Honey Irani is a
successful writer, too. But it’s not a simple case of genes, Farhan
seems to be channelising his personal angst and experiences through this
film. Proud papa, Javed Akhtar is convinced his son is doing the right
thing and is not at all worried about his son’s first tryst with the
pen.
Over To Javed Akhtar…
First of all, I must say that I am very happy that my son’s work is
equipped with such a wonderful sense of detailing. It’s admirable that
today’s youngsters, whether it is Aditya Chopra or Karan Johar, are
doing such detailed work. You know, Farhan is going to shoot the entire
film in four months, whereas he took an entire year to just prepare the
script.
What I also like about my son’s film is that it is not copied from
anywhere. There is no in-breeding. It has freshness, it has a feel of a
firsthand experience. It’s about young people who perhaps he has seen,
he has met, he has known. The way, they talk, live, their family, their
love affairs, their quarrels — none of it is filmi.
Generally parents who are in the same profession as their children are
tempted to give suggestions. Certain alterations, certain additions. And
the outcome at most times is disastrous. So when I made suggestions to
Farhan, I did so very carefully, very judiciously, putting it as softly
as I can. I gave him a few suggestions, some of them were definitely
considered, while some were not. Not all of them were accepted.
I am writing the songs for his film. And I must admit there was a
certain amount of awkwardness when the fees had to be discussed. For
one, he is not the producer. But when I said I won’t be charging any
money, the producer insisted on paying me money. It is not my regular
fees, but then I had volunteered to do it free. I’ve already written the
songs and they have even been recorded. They had to be since he plans to
make the film in four months. In fact, the film is almost 60 per cent
complete. Dimple has already finished shooting for the film. He did a
schedule in Goa, now he will be taking off to Australia. When he comes
back after a month-long schedule, the film will be complete except for
one song picturisation.
People ask me if I believe writing skills can be inherited, especially
since Farhan’s parents, Honey and I, are both writers. I feel that
upbringing and the ambiance matters a lot, sure. Genetically, you can
inherit looks and sensitivity. But what one does with it entirely
depends on the individual.
I have not really dwelt on the idea of comparisons between my son and
me. All I can say is that in the looks department he is better than I
am.
Earlier, my biggest worry was whether my son would do anything at all
(laughs in relief). Today, I am a relieved man. He gave me quite a few
pleasant surprises. He wrote a script by himself, assembled the cast and
even found a producer without my help. And that’s wonderful. And when I
read his script, I felt that here was a young man who knows what he is
doing. Now whether he succeeds or not and to what degree is to be seen.
But I also believe that if you know your job, sooner or later things are
bound to fall in place. And Farhan knows how to write. For sure."
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http://movies.india-today.com/features/featurejaved.shtml