Luck By Chance, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Gully Boy — Zoya Akhtar has a list of good films to her credit. When I got to chat with her she was on a promotional interview run for her latest stint on Netflix called Ghost Stories. We chatted about everything from stuff that inspires her to her favourite horror films, how it was to work with Janhvi Kapoor and Surekha Sikri and what she thinks about the real-life horror story that is happening in our country. She was quick to say, “Yes, it is scary” when asked about the situation in our country. While Zoya has been one of the few celebrities who has spoken up about the Citizenship Amendment Act/the NRC and the unfairness of it, I asked her if celebrities are more afraid of speaking up about issues because they feel they could be pulled down.
Talking about the same, she said:
The only shoes I’m in are my own and the only person I can speak about is myself. And… I mean they’re a soft target. If they say something they’re damned if they don’t say something they’re damned. And today you can’t judge anyone right now for speaking or not speaking. I mean the environment is such. You can’t judge people. You can just do what you want to do and say what you want to say and that’s it.
Speaking about Ghost Stories and working with Surekha Sikri and Janhvi, she said it was incredible working with them. She disclosed that it was the first time she had worked with Surekha Ji and that she had initially wanted her for a part in Gully Boy but their dates didn’t match. And when she got this opportunity she contacted her and it worked out wonderfully. About Janhvi she said that she’s sure she will collaborate with the young actress again.
Zoya’s anthology film along with Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap, and Karan Johar premiered on Netflix on 1st January 2020.