Zoya Akhtar, Asma Khan Honored at ‘India-UK Achievers’ Awards in London

Renowned filmmaker Zoya Akhtar and British Indian chef Asma Khan were honored at the annual ‘India-UK Achievers’ awards in London. The event celebrated Akhtar’s acclaimed work in cinema and Khan’s contributions to culinary arts.

Living Legend Award for Zoya Akhtar

• Zoya Akhtar was honored with the Living Legend Award for her work in furthering the understanding of India.
• Akhtar is acclaimed for box-office successes such as ‘Luck By Chance’ and ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, as well as her recent work ‘The Archies’.
• The 51-year-old daughter of writers Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani participated in a session focused on creative economies at the conference.

Honor for Chef Asma Khan

• Chef Asma Khan of the women-run Darjeeling Express restaurant in London was also honored.
• An alumna of King’s College London, Khan started her career in law before making her mark in the culinary arts.
• Asma Khan is also a cookery writer behind best-selling recipe books on Indian cuisine.

Launch of India-UK Achievers Initiative

• This initiative was launched in partnership with the British Council in India and the Department of Trade of the UK Government.
• The National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK launched the initiative last year in 2023.
• It was launched to celebrate bilateral educational relations between India and the UK.
• At a ceremony in early March 2024, the “Class of 2024”, comprising high achievers in the arts, sports, entrepreneurship, and medicine, was honored. Earlier, a one-day conference was organized on the topic “Future of Education”.