JAVED AKHTAR

One of the most renowned Hindi/Urdu poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India, Javed Akhtar is best remembered for doing the screenplay of famous Bollywood films such as Sholay, Anday and Don. The script-writing duo of Salim-Javed has probably been the most revered in Bollywood.

Born in 1945, Javed Akhtar lost his mother at a very young age and his father used to juggle between Bombay and Lucknow frequently. This is a huge reason why the young Javed and his brother had to stay with relatives most of the time. Not many know that Javed’s original name was Jadoo, which was taken from a line in a poem by his father. His lineage can be traced back to seven generations of writers. Some of his most prominent work was completed in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as the other half of the award-winning Jodi.

Arriving in Mumbai in late 1964, in his early years of living in Mumbai, Akhtar managed to pen down dialogues for a minor film for a meager amount of Rs 100. Infact, he often used to work as an assistant as well while trying to gain a foothold in the industry. He also managed to get a job as a scriptwriter for Yakeen. However, the movie bombed at the box office! His successful association with Salim Khan ended in 1980 after which he also wrote some scripts of his own. However, he was most effective in writing lyrics for Bollywood movies.

Javed Akhtar Stopped at Nothing and has infact been honored with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in the year 1999 and has also received the Padma Bhushan later on in 2007. A successful lyricist and script-writer of Akhtar’s stature is yet to be seen. It’s amazing to know that Akhtar has won the Filmfare Award fourteen times, seven times for the Best Script and seven times for penning the lyrics for the movie 1942-A Love Story. Akhtar has won the National Award five times for Saaz, Border, Godmother, Refugee and Lagaan.