Acting is giving me a boost: Farhan Akhtar

'Acting is giving me a boost'

The first thing that one notices about Farhan Akhtar these days is his moustache, that gives him a very Freddie Mercury-ish look! He conveniently disregards all curiosity surrounding his new look with a smile saying, "It's for a shoot but unfortunately I am not allowed to talk about it." What he rather shares is a long (read unending) list of films that he signed back-to-back!
"Shaadi Ke Side Effects is releasing in February, which will be followed by a film that I am doing with Kareena (Kapoor), being directed by Dev Benegal, tentatively titled Bombay Samurai. Isay tentatively titled' because I don't want the name to get stuck in people's head!"
His concerns for rumours and needless controversies that take no time in engulfing a film get highlighted in his statement and he tries to ward them off saying, "After this, I will be doing Zoya's film and another for Vidhu Vinod Chopra's company, directed by Bejoy Nambiar and will cast Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan and myself,"  he says,  with barely concealed excitement at the prospect of working with the legend.

Given his increasing acting stints in recent times, it is apparent that the young filmmaker-turned-actor is addicted to his vocation but he refutes saying, "Acting is giving me a boost and Iam getting wonderful opportunities to work on great scripts with really talented directors and actors who I admire tremendously. So its just a nice time as far as opportunity is presenting itself, and so why say no?" he asks with a glint in his eyes.
Beyond his hectic film schedule, it is his zeal to give back to society that keeps him busy. Having made a short-film on HIV titled Positive and launched a social campaign Men Against Rape and Discrimination (MARD), the filmmaker doesn't know what makes him "stand up for these social causes", but feels that he has received "a lot of love and support to get where I am today. It is important then for me to give something back, if I can, which is apart from what I do in films," he says. He was in the City to participate in the creation of India's largest Accessible Digital Library for the visually impaired. 
"Coming from a family that is predominantly writers, authors and poets, this is how Icould get their words, their poems translated for all these students and people who possibly could not have them before," Farhan shares enthusiastically. 
He is happy to be a part of the campaign Your Voice, Their World,' by Omron Automation and National Association for the Blind. "To create a digital library that is pre-accessible to all the visually impaired at any time, will empower them. So I felt it was a very wonderful step."

He decided to be part of the effort as he has seen and been part of the philanthropic efforts of his illustrious family. "I see that in my father, in Shabana, in my mom and they have seen it in their parents before them. It's a value system that has been passed down and the reason why I feel drawn towards feeling that this is the right thing to do."