In an interview on the talk show "The Lounge" with Simone Singh (on the Indian channel CNBC-TV18), Akhtar said that when he left college, he spent about two years at home and did nothing productive. During those two years, he watched about two films daily. Akhtar said that it was this period of his life which allowed him to connect with Karan Shergill, the protagonist of Mut zur Entscheidung - Lakshya (2004). Lakshya, which film Akhtar directed, begins with Karan as a young, unemployed slacker who stays at home, sleeps late, and has no ambition or aim in life.
