Javed Akhtar
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Javed AkhtarTemplate:Efn (born 1945) is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007,[1] two of India's highest civilian honours. He is considered as one of the greatest screenwriters in the history of Hindi Cinema.
Akhtar came to recognition in the duo Salim–Javed, and earned his breakthrough as a screenwriter with 1973's Zanjeer. He went on to write the films Deewaar and Sholay, both released in 1975; they earned a cult following, and had a significant impact in popular culture. He later earned praise for his work as a lyricist, winning the National Film Award for Best Lyrics five times and the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist eight times.
Akhtar notably campaigned for the Communist Party of India (CPI) and their candidate in the 2019 Indian general election, and was a member of parliament in Rajya Sabha.[2] For his work, he received the Richard Dawkins Award in 2020.[3][4][5][6]
In 2024, Amazon Prime released a three-part documentary series about the Salim-Javed screenwriting duo, Angry Young Men.[7]
Early life
Javed Akhtar was born in 1945 in Gwalior.[8] His father Jan Nisar Akhtar was a Bollywood film songwriter and Urdu poet.[9] His paternal grandfather Muztar Khairabadi was a poet as was his grandfather's elder brother, Bismil Khairabadi, while his great great grandfather, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, was a religious scholar of Islam who declared the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the western colonies.[10] Javed Akhtar's original name was Jadoo, taken from a line in a poem written by his father: "Lamha, lamha kisi jadoo ka fasana hoga". He was given the official name of Javed since it was close to the word jadoo.[11] He spent most of his childhood and was schooled in Lucknow. He graduated from Saifiya College in Bhopal.[12]
Career as scriptwriter
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".
Initially, in the 1970s, there was generally no concept of having the same writer for the screenplay, story and dialogue, nor were the writers given any credits in the titles. Rajesh Khanna is credited with giving Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar their first chance to become screenplay writers by offering them work in Haathi Mere Saathi.[13] Javed Akhtar stated in an interview that one day, he went to Salimsaab and said that Mr. Devar had given him a huge signing amount with which he could complete the payment for his bungalow, Aashirwad. But the film was a remake and the script of the original was far from being satisfactory. "He told us that if we could set right the script, he would make sure we got both money and credit."[14]
Their first big success was the script for Andaz (1971), followed by Haathi Mere Saathi (1971) and Seeta Aur Geeta (1972). They also had hits with Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Zanjeer (1973), Haath Ki Safai (1974), Deewaar (1975), Sholay (1975), Chacha Bhatija (1977), Don (1978), Trishul (1978), Dostana (1980), Kranti (1981), Zamana (1985) and Mr. India (1987). They have worked together in 24 films including two Kannada films – Premada Kanike and Raja Nanna Raja.
Of the 24 films they wrote, 20 were hits. The scripts they wrote, but which were not successful at box office include Adhikar (1971), Aakhri Dao (1975), Immaan Dharam (1977) and Shaan (1980). Though they split in 1982, due to ego issues, some of the scripts they wrote were made into hit films later, such as Zamana and Mr. India. Salim-Javed, many a time described as "the most successful scriptwriters of all-time",[15] are also noted to be the first scriptwriters in Indian cinema to achieve star status.[16]
Personal life
<templatestyles src="Template:Quote_box/styles.css" />
“There are certain things that I’d like to make clear at the very outset. Don’t get carried away by my name — Javed Akhtar. I am not revealing a secret, I am saying something that I have said many times, in writing or on TV, in public… I’m an atheist, I have no religious beliefs. And I don’t believe in spirituality of some kind".[17]
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Akhtar was nominated to the Parliament upper house Rajya Sabha on 16 November 2009.[18] Akhtar was married to Honey Irani, with whom he had two children, Farhan Akhtar, a film actor, producer, director[19] and Zoya Akhtar, a film writer, director and producer.[20] The father-and-son duo have worked together in films such as Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya, Rock On!! and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara with Zoya. Farhan was married to Adhuna Akhtar, a hair stylist.[21]
Despite having an Islamic upbringing, Akhtar declared himself to be an "equal opportunity atheist" who is against all faiths,[22][23] and also brought up his children Farhan and Zoya Akhtar as atheists.[24] However, he continues to identify as a "cultural Muslim" because of his heritage associated with the Islamic civilization.[25][26]
Akhtar married Shabana Azmi, the daughter of Urdu poet, Kaifi Azmi and later divorced Irani.[27] Akhtar's uncle, Asrar-ul-Haq "Majaz" was also an Urdu poet. His uncle, Ansar Harvani, was a member of the Indian independence movement and an elected Member of Parliament. Akhtar's aunt, Hamida Salim, was an Indian author, economist and educator as well.[28]
Awards and nominations
Javed was awarded the civilian honour of Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1999, followed by the Padma Bhushan in 2007.[1] In 2013, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu, India's second highest literary honour, for his poetry collection Lava.[29] In 2019, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Letters) by the Jamia Hamdard University.[30] In 2020 he was awarded the Richard Dawkins Award for being a "powerful force for secularism, reason, and human rights, challenging superstition and intolerance through his work in poetry, screenwriting, and political activism".[3][5] Lokmat Sur Jyotsna National Music Award - 2025 Legend Award for him contribution to Indian music.[31]
Filmography
As screenwriter
As Salim-Javed
As Javed Akhtar
| Year | Film | Language | Director | Cast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Betaab | Hindi | Rahul Rawail | Sunny Deol, Amrita Singh | Written as "Javed Akhtar" |
| 1984 | Duniya | Ramesh Talwar | Dilip Kumar, Rishi Kapoor, Amrita Singh | ||
| Mashaal | Hindi | Yash Chopra | Dilip Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman | ||
| 1985 | Saagar | Ramesh Sippy | Rishi Kapoor, Kamal Haasan, Dimple Kapadia | ||
| Arjun | Rahul Rawail | Sunny Deol, Dimple Kapadia | |||
| Meri Jung | Subhash Ghai | Anil Kapoor, Meenakshi Sheshadri | |||
| 1987 | Dacait | Rahul Rawail | Sunny Deol, Raakhee | ||
| 1989 | Main Azaad Hoon | Tinnu Anand | Amitabh Bachchan, Shabana Azmi | ||
| 1992 | Khel | Rakesh Roshan | Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit | ||
| 1993 | Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja | Satish Kaushik | Anil Kapoor, Sridevi | ||
| 1995 | Prem | Hindi | Sanjay Kapoor, Tabu | ||
| 1998 | Kabhi Na Kabhi | Priyadarshan | Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff | ||
| 2004 | Lakshya | Farhan Akhtar | Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Amitabh Bachchan | ||
| 2006 | Don: The Chase Begins Again | Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra |
Work as lyricist
<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>
Bibliography
Script error: No such module "Portal".
Notes
References
Further reading
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
External links
- Javed Akhtar Songs, Poetry, Biography
- Javed Akhtar at Kavita Kosh Template:Webarchive (Hindi)
- Template:Trim/ Javed Akhtar at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- BBC's Noel Thompson interviews JavedAkhtar on 4 September 2006
Template:Salim-Javed Template:Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art Template:National Film Award Best Lyrics Template:FilmfareAwardBestLyricist Template:FilmfareAwardBestDialogue Template:FilmfareLifetimeAchievementAward Template:PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2000–09 Template:Authority control
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1"..
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Sholay, through the eyes of Salim Khan, [1] Template:Webarchive, Rediff.com
- ↑ Ramesh Dawar (2003), Encyclopaedia of Hindi cinema Template:Webarchive, Encyclopædia Britannica (India) Pvt. Ltd.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ "Poets dominate Sahitya Akademi Awards 2013" Template:Webarchive. Sahitya Akademi. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Pages with script errors
- Pages with broken file links
- Akhtar-Azmi family
- Indian male poets
- Indian former Sunni Muslims
- Cultural Muslims
- Critics of religions
- Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
- Urdu-language poets from India
- Aligarh Muslim University alumni
- Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education
- Filmfare Awards winners
- Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award winners
- Indian atheists
- Indian lyricists
- People from Aligarh
- Writers from Bhopal
- Writers from Gwalior
- Writers from Lucknow
- 1945 births
- Living people
- Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha
- Poets from Uttar Pradesh
- 20th-century Indian poets
- 21st-century Indian poets
- Urdu-language writers
- Films with screenplays by Salim–Javed
- 20th-century Indian male writers
- 21st-century Indian male writers
- Screenwriters from Uttar Pradesh
- 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
- 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
- Best Lyrics National Film Award winners
- 20th-century atheists
- 21st-century atheists
- Writers from Mumbai
- Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu
- Male actors in Urdu cinema