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Every time I look in the mirror, I want to see a man whose mother, sister, wife, and daughter are proud to call their own.”
In this age of misconstruction, it’s heart-warming to see someone take a stand; even if it means looking at the future with an unbridled sense of optimism.
Ladies, gentlemen, and members of all the other gender communities: that’s Farhan Akhtar for you. Director, producer, singer, actor, activist; when the student fraternity of Xavier Institute of Management (XIMB) was told on a starry night (no pun intended) that Farhan Akhtar is going to grace Xpressions – the annual management & cultural fest of XIMB, the reverie which followed was resounding!
Farhan Akhtar is one of those people who just exude this aura of nonchalance, strangely coupled with this uncanny ability to pick the pulse of what is happening around. Right from directing his first film, “Dil Chahta Hain”, which I believe was one of the favourites, coming-of-age films for a lot of us in the early 2000’s, to experimenting with a revered classic like “Don”, to finally getting behind the vocals for a very relatable character (
Aditya Shroff, Rock On), which he himself played, Farhan Akhtar seems to have done it all!
And it goes without saying, that everyone: in, from, and around XIMB, is waiting with bated breath for the concert night of Xpressions. It’s like “
Magik” happening all over again, after almost a decade! It was breath-taking to watch him charge up the stage, with his one-of-a-kind voice and singing style, and an encore of that in the hallowed grounds of XIMB, which has seen the likes of Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, Arijit Singh, Amit Trivedi, Mohit Chauhan, Salim-Sulaiman, Vishal-Shekhar, Euphoria, Lucky Ali, and KK, would be nothing short of spectacular.
The business school life has a charm of its own. Meme-worthy, our lives revolve around case studies, business competitions, LinkedIn stalking, and ultimately growing and nurturing our networks. The things which we learn outside the classroom, backed with theories that we learn within the four walls, make us who we are. Sleep is a luxury, and the exam schedule is just a schedule. Because let’s be honest: between all the quizzes, presentations, and assignments, term examinations, whether in the middle of the term or at the end of it, is more of a norm than an aberration. Hence, when we do get the opportunity to let our hair down, we grab it with both our hands (and some more!).
The riveting singer, who has played many memorable characters across the breadth of the last decade, wait. Singer? No, I meant actor. Or wait, maybe I meant producer. Definitely a director. Jeez, that’s Farhan Akhtar for you, I tell you. You just can’t put him in a box, and that’s what makes him special.
As an institute, we have had the honour of being graced by eminent personalities from various walks of life. From industry stalwarts to media honchos, from social activists to bass guitarists, we get a motley of ideas and thoughts to craft what we choose to believe in. Our management fest, Xpressions, is a great arena for us to manifest those learnings into something for years to remember for. And nothing beats in comparison to the Concert Night. It’s not just the whole campus, but the entire city throbs with this new-found energy. And to have Farhan Akhtar be a harbinger of this energy is just the cherry on the top.
“Ik baat honthon tak hai jo aayi nahin
Bas ankhon se hai jhaankti
Tumse kabhi, mujhse kabhi
Kuch lafz hain woh maangti
Jinko pahen ke honthon tak aa jaaye woh
Awaaz ki baahon mein baahein daalke ithlaaye woh
Lekin jo yeh ik baat hai
Ehsaas hi ehsaas hai
Khushboo si hai jaise hawa mein tairti
Khushboo jo be awaaz hai
Jiska pata tumko bhi hai
Jiski khabar mujhko bhi hai
Duniya se bhi chhupta nahin
Yeh jaane kaisa Raaz hai.”
Imraan Querishi (our very own Farhan Akhtar), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (penned by the revered Javed Akhtar)
Farhan Akhtar, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar awaits you. Eagerly.