Zoya Akhtar (born 14 October 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. Born to to poet, lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar and screenwriter Honey Irani, she completed a diploma in filmmaking from NYU, where she assisted directors such as Mira Nair, Tony Gerber and Dev Benegal, before turning writer-director in her own right. She achieved her breakthrough with the comedy-drama Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Director. She has since directed the comedy-drama Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), segments in the anthology films Lust Stories (2018) and Ghost Stories (2020), and the musical drama Gully Boy (2019), which won her a second Filmfare Award for Best Director.