Zoya: Hirani can take a bitter truth and turn it into a sweet pill

Zoya Akhtar is a woman with a distinct cinematic voice. But unlike strong women, who are, for some reason, seen as bad women, Zoya is loved as she is a people's person with a lot of warmth and emotion. She is bright and perceptive and a master at managing diverse egos of great actors in an ensemble cast film. She tells us what she likes about each of her actors in Dil Dhadakne Do and other directors that she admires. And while every actor wants to work with a Zoya Akhtar, she tells us who she wants to work with. Excerpts from a three-minute conversation we had waiting outside a loo.

Tell us about working with each of your stars in the film.
Anil Kapoor's energy is infectious. He is hungry, hard-working, competitive and he cares.

Ranveer Singh is adorable and supremely talented. He is a baby, who is caring, sweet and sensitive.

Anushka Sharma is cute, honest and she is a bit of an innocent. She is bright, very very polite, is good, keeps her mouth shut and does not bitch.

Priyanka Chopra is a freaking powerhouse. She can do any job on the set and be good at it. She could be an assistant director, a producer, a camera assistant. I think she can even shoot the film. She is a team player and is generous.

Farhan Akhtar is great energy on set, super fun and for me, least homework, so I find him to be the easiest actor to deal with as he has been with me from the script stage, so I don't have to work so much with him.

Shefali Shah is a genius. She does the least amount of prep, has the least amount of paraphernalia and whatever mood she is in, she will come there and kick the ass out of everything and leave.


As a director yourself, which directors do you admire the most?
Raju Hirani, as he takes a bitter truth and makes it into a sweet pill. Anurag Kashyap because he has tremendous style. He's got a freedom, as in he is free in his head, he has balls, he can make a film in eight days if he wants to and he will take it somewhere, he pushes it and he is not scared to fail. I admire that and I feel he is special and unique. I can't imagine the industry without him as he balances it out. I love Farhan not just because I have worked with him and know him, but because I feel he is ridiculous. He is a chameleon, is versatile and can make any genre.

All actors want to work with you. Who do you want to work with?
Amongst the women, I want to work with Rani Mukerji, Kangana Ranaut and Deepika Padukone. Amongst the men, I want to work with Ranbir Kapoor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Irrfan and of course, Mr Amitabh Bachchan.