Farhan Akhtar Unplugged: From One Rockstar To Another
GQ India|November 2016

He's turning the idea of being a rockstar on its head. Indus-Creed frontman Uday Benegal peers through the looking glass.

Uday Benegal
Farhan Akhtar Unplugged: From One Rockstar To Another

Sundays at Bandra Bandstand, Mumbai’s micro-Malibu, are crapshoots when it comes to crowds. The neighbourhood’s Bollywood denizens are honeypot to filmi fans, and on any given weekend you can expect to get snagged in the mother of all snarls trying to dodge hordes of devotees gathered outside some celebrity’s house. The afternoon I went to see Farhan Akhtar, a Mumbai Darshan bus had deposited a throng outside Shah Rukh Khan’s high gates. I slalomed my way through the excitables taking selfies with a nameplate, hiked a U-turn onto the seafacing road and quickly found myself within the peaceable walls of Akhtar’s bungalow.

The actor-director-singer was waiting, clad in casuals and his unmistakable smile. “That’s a fortress,” he says, explaining the curious heap of cushions in a corner of the living room. “My daughter built it. She’s downstairs.” Battlements notwithstanding, Akhtar’s home has a calm, easy air about it, not unlike its owner, whose rock ’n’ roll ambitions piqued my interest.

I’ve known Farhan many years, though in a sparse kind of way. We used to bump into each other a long time ago when I moonlighted as a jingle singer and he was working as an advertising production assistant with a film-maker called Adi Pocha. “The first job I ever did was for a sequel to an underwear ad. Adi threw me straight into the deep end and said, ‘Here’s the budget, make sure everything is done within this.’ I was very diligent and wouldn’t even buy the crew cold drinks at lunch. Zoya [Akhtar], Avaan Contractor [now at B:Blunt], Anand Subaya [the editor], were all working on the ad. They used to be like, ‘Can we have a Thums-Up?’ and I was like, ‘No, you can’t. Buy it with your own money.’ I saved Adi about a lakh on the budget, and he’s been really fond of me ever since.”

This story is from the November 2016 edition of GQ India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November 2016 edition of GQ India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM GQ INDIAView All
Finally, Women Are Breaking Up One of Luxury's Stuffiest Boys' Clubs
GQ India

Finally, Women Are Breaking Up One of Luxury's Stuffiest Boys' Clubs

Dimepiece founder Brynn Wallner hosts a round table of leaders in the watch world to unpack the ascendant power of the female collector.

time-read
8 mins  |
February - March 2024
Can The Saudis Buy Soccerr?
GQ India

Can The Saudis Buy Soccerr?

Saudi Arabia is spending an unfathomable fortune to lure the biggest stars of global football (Ronaldo! Benzema! Neymar!) to its upstart league. So GQ ventured to the kingdom to discover what the gambit represents. Is this the future of the world's most popular sport? The vanguard of sportswashing? Or something way bigger?

time-read
10+ mins  |
February - March 2024
CRACKING THE PERO CODE
GQ India

CRACKING THE PERO CODE

Delhi-based label Péro is available in over 350 stores across the world. Shweta Shiware meets the reclusive founder and creative mastermind Aneeth Arora, arguably the Indian fashion industry's best storyteller.

time-read
10 mins  |
February - March 2024
Captain Mbappé
GQ India

Captain Mbappé

We met him as a teenage prodigy. Now, with his PSG teammates Messi and Neymar gone, and a new job as French national team captain, Kylian Mbappé is reckoning with the responsibilities and privileges that come with being the man.

time-read
9 mins  |
February - March 2024
The Full Ricky
GQ India

The Full Ricky

Twenty-five years after becoming one of the most staggeringly famous men on the planet, a wiser, more assured Ricky Martin is taking another run at being a star. While also being himself, this time.

time-read
10+ mins  |
February - March 2024
THE BOND
GQ India

THE BOND

What does it mean to be a parent in this day and age? In GQ's annual series dedicated to fatherhood, we take a peek at the intimate relationships that some of the coolest dads share with their kids.

time-read
5 mins  |
February - March 2024
THE RATIONAL ACTOR
GQ India

THE RATIONAL ACTOR

With a stream of critical and commercial successes under his belt, Vicky Kaushal is buoyant about what lies ahead in terms of work. Yet it is in his personal life that he has experienced the most transformation.

time-read
10 mins  |
February - March 2024
Standing TALL
GQ India

Standing TALL

Comedian and actor Vir Das speaks to GQ about winning an International Emmy for his Netflix special, codirecting his first movie, and the future of stand-up comedy in India.

time-read
7 mins  |
February - March 2024
Das Holistic
GQ India

Das Holistic

New York's desi rap star Heems's new album re-imagines the diasporic experience not as a site of endless ambivalence, but a place to be whole.

time-read
4 mins  |
February - March 2024
The Return of the Opulent '80s
GQ India

The Return of the Opulent '80s

The all-gold Piaget Polo, Hublot Classic Original, and Rolex GMT were kings during the '80s. Now they're coming back for their crown.

time-read
2 mins  |
February - March 2024