Director Zoya Akhar in a recent conversation said that aspiring writers should not be chasing trends and instead focus on the stories that feel authentic to them. She also said that the film industry works cyclically and thus currently there might be an excess of action films but “maybe love stories will come back.”

Speaking at a masterclass session organised by Whistling Woods International in association with the Screenwriters Association of India (SWA), Zoya, when asked what she thinks the next five years for India might look like and what sort of themes aspiring writers should explore, said, “See, I don't function that way. Like, I don't know, ‘Oh, now they're looking for this, so let me write this.’ I don't think that way. But if you look at it in the past 10 years, 15 years, it changes. Everything gets saturated, everything changes. So, I mean, if you look at it cyclically, maybe love stories will come back.”

When asked about her future projects, she said, “We have Dahaad 2 being shot. Reema Kagti is shooting that. I am writing two screenplays for myself. We finished one screenplay for Reema, and we are currently developing a bunch of scripts with other directors to set up and produce.”

When quizzed about the talk around Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 2, the filmmaker added with a smile, “When it happens, I’ll announce it.”

Zoya's last directorial was the Netflix film The Archies.