Farhan Akhtar, son of poet-writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar and his first wife, artiste and screenwriter Honey Irani, is a leading producer, director and actor in Hindi cinema. With both his parents being intimately involved with Hindi cinema, Farhan and twin Zoya, who is also a well-known screenwriter and director, were exposed to films and the industry from a tender age and were soon drawn towards the medium. Farhan, who started off as an assistant cameraman on Yash Chopra's Lamhe (1991), shot into the limelight with his directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai (2001) starring Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, a film that captured the changing lifestyle, mores, language and concerns of young, upper-middle-class Indians at the turn of the millennium and became a cult favourite and a sleeper hit.

Dil Chahta Hai won the National award for Best Film, the Filmfare award for Best Film, and the IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) award that year. Boosted by the commercial and critical success of his debut venture, Farhan set forth on a successful directorial career with the drama Lakshya (2004) starring Hrithik Roshan, the thriller Don (2006) starring Shah Rukh Khan, Positive (2007), a short film on AIDS awareness, and Don 2 (2011), again with Shah Rukh Khan in the title role.

Buoyed by his early success, Farhan also moved into production with Lakshya with his first producer Ritesh Sidhwani and the two have been a team ever since. In fact, after Positive, Farhan moved out of direction, returning only to helm the sequel of Don in 2011. With Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd (2007), he and Sidhwani began producing films with others in the director's chair, Reema Kagti in this case.

Akhtar made his acting debut with Rock On!! (2008), which was co-written and directed by Abhishek Kapoor. This film, too, became a hit and launched Farhan Akhtar the actor and singer. Following this, he began taking on more acting roles, with films like Luck By Chance (2009), Karthik Calling Karthik (2010) and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), which was directed by his sister Zoya and won Farhan awards in his capacity as both actor and producer.

In 2013, Farhan took the next step and played the lead in a film that was not produced or directed by himself, when he appeared in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. The film was a critical and commercial success and Farhan was adjudged the best actor at the Filmfare, IIFA and Zee Cine awards. Recently, he also worked as actor and producer on Dil Dhadakne Do (2015).

Apart from acting in, producing, and directing films, Farhan Akhtar has also worked on a number of lyrical projects in English for films like Lagaan (2001) and Bride And Prejudice (2004). He appeared as a judge for the Femina Miss India beauty pageant in 2002, and on the dance reality show Nach Baliye in 2005. He launched the Men Against Rape and Discrimination (MARD) campaign in India, a social endeavour that aims to bring about awareness of women’s issues in the country.

Farhan married Adhuna Bhabhani, a hairstylist, in 2000. Adhuna Bhabhani was responsible for the iconic looks of Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna in Dil Chahta Hai (2001). After 16 years of marriage, the couple finally divorced on 21 January 2016.