Javed Akhtar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Javed Akhtar
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Akhtar in 2012
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| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 22 March 2010 – 21 March 2016 |
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| Nominated by | Pratibha Patil |
| Succeeded by | Navjot Singh Sidhu |
| Constituency | Nominated (Arts) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 January 1947 Gwalior, Gwalior State, British India (present-day Madhya Pradesh, India) |
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| Relatives | Muztar Khairabadi (grand father) Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi (great grandfather) Hamida Salim (aunt) Ansar Harvani (uncle) Majaz (uncle) Salman Akhtar (brother) |
| Education | Colvin Taluqdars' College, Lucknow |
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Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1947) is a famous Indian screenwriter, lyricist, and poet. He is well-known for his work in Hindi cinema, also called Bollywood.
He has won many awards, including five National Film Awards. He also received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007. These are two of India's highest awards for regular citizens.
Javed Akhtar first became famous as part of a writing team called Salim–Javed. Their big break came with the movie Zanjeer in 1973. They also wrote the scripts for 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, he became highly praised for writing song lyrics. He won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics five times and the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist eight times. Javed Akhtar also served as a member of parliament in Rajya Sabha. In 2020, he received the Richard Dawkins Award for his work 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 team of Salim-Javed.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Javed Akhtar was born in 1947 in Gwalior, India. His father, Jan Nisar Akhtar, was a songwriter for Bollywood films and an Urdu poet. Poetry runs in his family! His grandfather, Muztar Khairabadi, was also a poet. Even his great-great-grandfather, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, was a religious scholar.
Javed Akhtar's first name was Jadoo, which means "magic." This name came from a line in a poem written by his father. He was later officially named Javed because it sounded similar to Jadoo. He spent most of his childhood and went to school in Lucknow. He later finished college in Bhopal.
Career as a Screenwriter
In the 1970s, it was not common for one person to write the story, screenplay, and dialogue for a film. Also, writers usually didn't get much credit. The famous actor Rajesh Khanna gave Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar their first chance to write screenplays for the film Haathi Mere Saathi.
Javed Akhtar shared that a film producer offered them a lot of money to fix a movie script. He said that if they could make the script better, they would get both money and credit.
Their first big success was the script for Andaz in 1971. After that, they wrote Haathi Mere Saathi (1971) and Seeta Aur Geeta (1972). They also had many other hit movies, including Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Zanjeer (1973), Deewaar (1975), and Sholay (1975).
Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar worked together on 24 films. Out of these, 20 were very successful! They are often called "the most successful scriptwriters of all time." They were also the first writers in Indian cinema to become as famous as movie stars. They stopped working together in 1982, but some of their scripts were still made into hit films later, like Mr. India.
Personal Life
Javed Akhtar was chosen to be a member of India's Parliament, in the upper house called Rajya Sabha, in 2009.
He was first married to Honey Irani. They had two children: Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar. Both of his children are also involved in filmmaking. Farhan is an actor, producer, and director, and Zoya is a writer and director. Javed Akhtar has worked with his son Farhan on movies like Dil Chahta Hai and Lakshya.
Javed Akhtar later divorced Honey Irani and married Shabana Azmi. Shabana Azmi is also a famous actress and the daughter of another Urdu poet, Kaifi Azmi. Even though he grew up in a Muslim family, Javed Akhtar has said that he does not follow any religion. He raised his children, Farhan and Zoya, to also not follow any specific religion.
His uncle, Ansar Harvani, was part of India's movement for independence and was also a Member of Parliament. His aunt, Hamida Salim, was an author, economist, and teacher.
Awards and Honors
Javed Akhtar has received many important awards for his work. The Government of India honored him with the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007. These are very high civilian awards in India.
In 2013, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his poetry collection called Lava. This is India's second-highest literary honor. In 2019, he received an honorary doctorate degree from Jamia Hamdard University.
In 2020, he was given the Richard Dawkins Award. This award recognized him for being a strong supporter of secularism (meaning no favoritism towards any religion), reason, and human rights. He has challenged old beliefs and intolerance through his poetry, screenwriting, and political work.
He has won many National Film Awards for Best Lyrics, including for films like Saaz, Border, Godmother, Refugee, and Lagaan. He has also won many Filmfare Awards for Best Lyricist and Best Dialogue.
Filmography Highlights
Javed Akhtar has contributed to many films as a screenwriter and lyricist.
As Screenwriter (with Salim Khan)
- Andaz (1971)
- Haathi Mere Saathi (1971)
- Seeta Aur Geeta (1972)
- Zanjeer (1973)
- Deewaar (1975)
- Sholay (1975)
- Don (1978)
- Mr. India (1987)
As Screenwriter (on his own)
- Betaab (1983)
- Mashaal (1984)
- Lakshya (2004)
- Don: The Chase Begins Again (2006)
Work as Lyricist (Selected Films)
- Silsila (1981)
- Mr. India (1987)
- 1942: A Love Story (1994)
- Border (1997)
- Lagaan (2001)
- Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
- Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)
- Veer-Zaara (2004)
- Swades (2004)
- Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
- Rock On!! (2008)
- Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)
- Gully Boy (2019)
- Dunki (2023)
Images for kids
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Javed Akhtar in Dec 2014
