Javed Akhtar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Javed Akhtar
Akhtar in 2012
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 22 March 2010 – 21 March 2016
Nominated by	Pratibha Patil
Succeeded by	Navjot Singh Sidhu
Constituency	Nominated (Arts)
Personal details
Born	(1945-01-17) 17 January 1945 (age 80) Gwalior, Gwalior State, British India (present-day Madhya Pradesh, India)
Spouses	Honey Irani ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1985)​ ; 2 children Shabana Azmi ​ (m. 1984)​
Children	Zoya Akhtar (daughter) Farhan Akhtar (son)
Parent	Jan Nisar Akhtar (father)
Relatives	Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi (great grandfather) Muztar Khairabadi (grand father) Hamida Salim (aunt) Ansar Harvani (uncle) Majaz (uncle) Salman Akhtar (brother)
Education	Colvin Taluqdars' College, Lucknow
Occupation	Lyricist political activist poet screenwriter
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Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is a famous Indian screenwriter, lyricist, and poet. He is well-known for his work in Hindi cinema, which is the film industry in India that makes movies in the Hindi language.

Javed Akhtar has won many awards for his work. He received five National Film Awards for his song lyrics. He was also honored with the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007. These are two of India's highest awards given to civilians. Many people consider him one of the best screenwriters in the history of Hindi cinema.

He first became famous as part of a writing team called Salim–Javed. They had their first big success as screenwriters with the 1973 film Zanjeer. They also wrote other popular films like Deewaar and Sholay, both released in 1975. These movies became very popular and had a big impact on Indian culture.

Later, Javed Akhtar became known for writing song lyrics. He won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics five times and the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist eight times. He also served as a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha, which is one of the two houses of the Indian Parliament. In 2020, he received the Richard Dawkins Award for promoting reason and human rights.

In 2024, a three-part documentary series called Angry Young Men was released on Amazon Prime. It was about the screenwriting duo Salim-Javed.

Javed Akhtar's Early Life

Javed Akhtar in December 2014

Javed Akhtar was born in 1945 in Gwalior, India. His father, Jan Nisar Akhtar, was a songwriter for Bollywood films and an Urdu poet. His family had many poets and scholars. His grandfather, Muztar Khairabadi, was a poet, and his great-great-grandfather, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, was a religious scholar.

Javed Akhtar's original name was Jadoo, which means "magic." This name came from a line in a poem written by his father. He was later given the official name Javed because it sounded similar to Jadoo. He spent most of his childhood and went to school in Lucknow. He later graduated from Saifiya College in Bhopal.

Career as a Screenwriter

Javed Akhtar became very successful as a screenwriter, especially when he worked with Salim Khan. In the 1970s, it was not common for the same person to write the story, screenplay, and dialogue for a film, and writers often didn't get credit.

The famous actor Rajesh Khanna gave Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar their first big chance to write a screenplay for the film Haathi Mere Saathi. They worked hard to improve the script, and this helped them get both money and recognition for their writing.

Their first major success was the script for Andaz (1971). After that, they wrote many hit films together, including:

• Haathi Mere Saathi (1971)
• Seeta Aur Geeta (1972)
• Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973)
• Zanjeer (1973)
• Deewaar (1975)
• Sholay (1975)
• Don (1978)
• Mr. India (1987)

The duo, known as Salim-Javed, wrote 24 films together, and 20 of them were big hits. They are often called "the most successful scriptwriters of all-time" in Indian cinema. They were also the first screenwriters to become famous stars themselves. Even after they stopped working together in 1982, some of their scripts were made into successful films later on.

Javed Akhtar's Personal Life

Javed Akhtar was a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament, from 2009 to 2016.

He was first married to Honey Irani, and they had two children: Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar. Both Farhan and Zoya are also successful in the film industry as actors, directors, and writers. Javed Akhtar has worked with his children on films like Dil Chahta Hai and Lakshya.

Later, Javed Akhtar married Shabana Azmi, who is the daughter of another famous Urdu poet, Kaifi Azmi. Even though he grew up in an Islamic family, Javed Akhtar has said that he is an "equal opportunity atheist" and does not believe in any specific religion. He raised his children, Farhan and Zoya, with similar views. However, he still feels connected to his family's heritage and identifies as a "cultural Muslim" because of his background.

Awards and Recognitions

Javed Akhtar has received many important awards for his contributions to Indian arts and literature.

• In 1999, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Shri.
• In 2007, he received the Padma Bhushan, which is an even higher civilian award.
• In 2013, he won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetry collection called Lava. This is India's second-highest literary honor.
• In 2019, Jamia Hamdard University gave him an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Letters).
• In 2020, he was given the Richard Dawkins Award. This award recognized him for being a strong supporter of secularism, reason, and human rights, and for challenging old beliefs and intolerance through his work.
• In 2025, he received the Lokmat Sur Jyotsna National Music Award - Legend Award for his great work in Indian music.

Filmfare Awards for Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar has won several Filmfare Awards, which are very prestigious in the Indian film industry.

• In 1995, he won Best Lyricist for "Ek Ladki Ko Dekha" from 1942: A Love Story.
• In 1997, he won Best Lyricist for "Ghar Se Nikalte" from Papa Kehte Hai.
• In 1998, he won Best Lyricist for "Sandese Aate Hai" from Border.
• In 1990, he won Best Dialogue for Main Azaad Hoon.
• In 2001, he won Best Lyricist for "Panchchi Nadiyaan" from Refugee.
• In 2002, he won Best Lyricist for "Radha Kaise Naa Jale" from Lagaan.

Films Written by Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar has written many films, both as part of the Salim-Javed duo and on his own.

As Salim-Javed (Screenwriter)

As Javed Akhtar (Screenwriter)

Songs Written by Javed Akhtar (Lyricist)

Javed Akhtar has written lyrics for many popular songs in Hindi films. Here are some of the films he worked on: