Akhtar started her career as the co-director of a music video called "Price of Bullets" for a rock band called Pentagram. She has worked as a casting director for films including "Split Wide Open" (1999) and "Dil Chahta Hai" (2001), and as an assistant director for her brother Farhan Akhtar's films "Dil Chahta Hai a"nd "Lakshya" (2004). She then worked as an executive producer for her longtime associate and friend Reema Kagti's "Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd." (2007), also produced by Excel Entertainment.