He famously broke new ground, introducing Bollywood to a new genre of film-making with Dil Chahta Hai in 2001. Now, over a decade later, he breaks another with his own rock band, Farhan Live. Having always enjoyed jamming on the guitar and writing poetry, Akhtar tells us that his live performances with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy post Rock On!! introduced him to the thrill of singing to live audiences. “It was almost a calling of sorts and I realised that performing live came naturally to me,” he says.
Rocking on
Formed in November last year, Farhan Live brings together reputed names from the music fraternity like Shannon Donald, Sarosh Izedyar, Dibyajyoti Nath, Darshan Doshi and Umaang Doshi. They debuted with a performance at the Goa Carnival in February 2013 to an audience of over 25,000 roaring fans.
Big screen influence
Their setlist includes numbers from Akhtar’s films like Rock On!!, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Lakshya and Dil Chahta Hai as well as currently popular tunes. But they have much bigger plans for the future. “We are very seriously working on collaborations and original compositions because as much as I enjoy music from my films, it is not exactly personal,” Akhtar reveals as he tells us of a ‘different sense of satisfaction that only comes from sharing his writing through music’.
December 14, Wesley Grounds, Bengaluru.
Tickets (Rs.1,000 upwards) at eventjini.com