When a relative of the Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara producer harshly criticized Zoya Akhtar’s film, here’s how she reacted
Zoya Akhtar started her directing career with Luck By Chance (2009) before making her most successful film to date, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Despite the positive reception from audiences and critics, Akhtar recently shared a story with The Hollywood Reporter India about how an uncle criticized the movie at the premiere of ZNMD, calling it ‘rubbish’.
In a conversation with Karan Johar, they both expressed their dislike for showing films to focus groups, as the feedback can be harsh. Johar recalled a time when Zoya showed ZNMD to a critic who commented, “Oh there are too many travel shots.” Zoya then had to remind him, “It’s a travel film.”
This same critic was also present during a screening of Gully Boy and remarked, “There is too much rapping.” Zoya had to explain that the film is about rap and questioned why she was even there. Akhtar admitted that she dislikes feedback because she doesn’t want to hear everything and just moves on.
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Zoya shared why she stopped attending screenings, revealing an incident where she was yelled at in a focus group. An uncle at the ZNMD screening criticized the film, and Zoya had to tell him that the movie wasn’t made for him. She mentioned that some younger viewers defended the film, showing that it wasn’t meant for everyone. Karan Johar agreed with her, expressing his dislike for research screenings and the anxiety of hearing feedback.
“A filmmaker feels exactly the same outside an editing room. You can tell by their body language if they liked it or hated it, and then you have to ask them what they thought, and you are just worried about what they are going to say,” Karan added.
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