‘I Was Wasting Time’: Farhan Akhtar Says Jee Le Zaraa Delays Were ‘Stressful’ For Him

Bollywood actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, who was recently seen in the war drama movie 120 Bahadur, has one anticipated film, Jee Le Zaraa, which has been pending for years. The film was about to have three leading ladies of today’s time-Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt. The movie was announced in 2021, has been delayed for several years due to time issues between the three actresses. Recently, Farhan Akhtar, who is the director of the film, talked about its delay. He shared that he left several projects as he wanted to focus on directing Jee Le Zaraa, but the shooting date was never finalised.

In an interview with Samdish Bhatia on his YouTube channel, the actor revealed that he rejected several acting projects that came his way to focus solely on Jee Le Zaraa but the shooting schedule kept getting pushed. Farhan Akhtar said, “So my film Toofan was released in 2021, and right after that, I was set to direct a film called Jee Le Zara. It just kept getting delayed, and for those two years, I kept saying no to all other opportunities that came my way. I did that because when you have to direct, you can only focus on that. If an acting role came, I told them, ‘No, I am soon going to be directing’.”

The actor and director further added, “It was such a stressful period because I thought that I was wasting time, and before I knew it, two and a half years had gone by. There are some personal insecurities as well. I started feeling that maybe people will think that I wouldn’t be able to direct. It had been 12 years since I had directed a film, and maybe people would doubt my skills. When you sit with a therapist and you tell these things, you start realising where all these things are coming from. Because I didn’t want to say, ‘Let me move on from this film.’”

Also read: Alia Bhatt Opens Up About Delays In Jee Le Zaraa And Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Inshallah

Talking about Jee Le Zaraa, the film is based on a road trip. It is a light-hearted story on female friendships, self-discovery and making independent choices. Since the announcement, the film has been creating buzz on social media as the film is headlined by three popular actresses in the country. Notably, the film marks the first collaboration of Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif.