ALFA Network’s latest event, Behind The Scenes With Zoya Akhtar, at JW Marriott Kolkata, was a refreshing change from done-to-death formats. The first event of chairs Akhil Bansal and Sonali Nahata not just embraced novelty, but also made sure the audience remained engaged. In fact, the audience had more power as Zoya was put in the spotlight and asked some very intrusive questions by the hosts. The audience had the power to declare the star director ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ with the show of placards available at their disposal. t2 took an active part in this extremely democratic, exciting and fun chat session, which was made lively with visuals from Zoya’s films.

The travel fantasy crime

Like a true interrogator, Sonali put out the first accusation against Zoya: “You’ve made friendships look like a beautifully funded European escape where people find themselves, heal emotionally, but never check flight prices. You’re guilty of making life-changing trips look normal, when in reality, most of our trips are Goa or Thailand, where even split-wise requests are disputed.” While the jury declared her guilty unanimously, Zoya defended herself quite well and talking about Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, she said: “They’re all in their mid-30s in this film. One is travelling first class, one is travelling business, one is travelling economy. They’re all working professionals. I went to Goa in a bus when I was young. I used to go to Goa with ₹1,000 back in the day and have a full week. So, it’s really not the destination, I think it’s the attitude.”

Overselling friendship

Friendships have been at the core of some of Zoya’s films, and taking from it, she was accused of making male friendships emotionally expressive, vulnerable, and evolved. Stating his argument, Akhil said: “You’re guilty of making us believe our friends will confront us, hug us, help us grow, when in reality, they just send memes and say, let’s drink.” The jury emerged divided here, making Zoya feel much more confident. Talking from her experience, which eventually shaped her characters on screen, Zoya said: “I’ve grown up with my dad and my brother and a lot of my male friends. I have many male friends who are like this. I have very sensitive men in my life.” She also revealed that she is manifesting a man for herself who matches the characters she sketches for the screen.

The glamorous dysfunction case

Zoya has segued from complexities in friendship to families with ease in her films, and taking a cue from Dil Dhadakne Do, the third allegation against her was making toxic families look good. While in the eyes of the audience she remained guilty, in her defence, Zoya shared that the film started off as a brother-sister story because she is very close to her brother (Farhan Akhtar). She also shared how she was brought up in a family that had the same rule for both boys and girls. “I was never told I can’t do this or can do this or he can’t do this or can. Like I’m a girl or he’s a boy. We never had that understanding. When I went to college, and met girls who weren’t allowed to go out at night, and their brothers were, I was shocked.”

Guilty of selling hope too beautifully

The next question was referenced to the Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt-starrer Gully Boy. And the allegation was: You told every outsider, every underdog that their voice matters. You are accused of making struggle look poetic and dreams feel achievable in two-and-a-half hours. The audience stood divided. Looking at the ‘guilty’ and ‘not guilty’ placards raised by the audience, Zoya talked about hope to clear the doubts. “I think dreams are achievable and I think every voice matters. So, I stick by that.” The Gully Boy director went ahead and talked passionately about hip-hop and how she came across talents in Mumbai that blew her mind, including Naezy. “I had never seen anything like that out of India. In that video, Naezy was talking about life in Dharavi. His flow was insane and though this urban kid has never left Mumbai, he knows every single hip-hop artiste and every single thing that’s ever released, because of YouTube. He was like an Internet-generation kid and he was not represented anywhere in mainstream media in India. And that really intrigued me.”

The Archies shock

Zoya’s 2023 film, The Archies, put her under the scanner for the next few minutes. The film that had an ensemble cast including Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, Suhana Khan and others, failed to connect with the audience and the host asked a straight, simple and piercing question — What happened with The Archies? Sensing a disconnect in the audience, Zoya argued her case with utmost honesty. “It’s my childhood escape. It’s ideal; nothing goes wrong in this world. It’s pretty, it’s innocent, it’s where you are at that age where you feel everything is possible and I wanted to capture that and I didn’t want to make it real. Three of my favourite Hindi films are inspired by Archie. It’s a film for kids and I don’t know why adults were getting so offended,” said Zoya, winning the confidence of the audience and emphasising that it’s a lot of fun creating an idealistic world.

The Farhan Bias

After playing clips from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Dil Dhadakne Do, the chairs pointed out a pattern in Zoya’s films — everybody gets good lines, but Farhan gets the lines that people remember. Charged with favouritism, Zoya explained that the dialogues were written with Farhan in mind. “My first film (Luck By Chance) was written with no one in mind, and then I couldn’t cast anyone, and it ended up being him. But after that, all the parts that he’s been in have been with him in mind, and now that I haven’t worked with him in two features, I’m actually really missing him. So, it’s time to find something for him again,” confessed Zoya, eliciting cheer from the audience for supporting her sibling.

The exciting tete-a-tete continued with different rounds, including a rapid-fire, that brought out a more candid side of Zoya we had never seen before. Guilty or not guilty of the allegations made in the house, Zoya is one of the most talented filmmakers of the country, and that cannot be denied or contested.