Javed Akhtar

Early life

Javed Akhtar was born in 1945 in Gwalior. His father Jan Nisar Akhtar was a songwriter in Hindi films and an Urdu poet. 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. 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. He spent most of his childhood and was schooled in Lucknow. He graduated from Saifiya College in Bhopal.

Career as scriptwriter

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. 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."

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", are also noted to be the first scriptwriters in Indian cinema to achieve star status.

Personal life

Akhtar was nominated to the Parliament upper house Rajya Sabha on 16 November 2009. Akhtar was married to Honey Irani, with whom he had two children, Farhan Akhtar, a film actor, producer, director and Zoya Akhtar, a film writer, director and producer. 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 previously married to hair stylist Adhuna Akhtar, they divorced in 2017, and he is currently married to actress and singer Shibani Dandekar.

Despite having an Islamic upbringing, Akhtar declared himself to be an "equal opportunity atheist" who is against all faiths, and also brought up his children Farhan and Zoya Akhtar as atheists. However, he continues to identify as a "cultural Muslim" because of his heritage associated with the Islamic civilization.

Akhtar married Shabana Azmi, the daughter of Urdu poet, Kaifi Azmi and later divorced Irani. 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.

Awards and nominations Akhtar receiving Padma Bhushan by the then President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2007. Javed was awarded the civilian honour of Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1999, followed by the Padma Bhushan in 2007. In 2019, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Letters) by the Jamia Hamdard University. 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". In 2023, he received Viswambhara Dr C Narayana Reddy National Literary Award for his contributions to Urdu literature

National Film Awards Year Category Outcome Work Notes 1996 Best Lyrics Saaz 1997 Border 1998 Godmother 2000 Refugee 2001 Lagaan

Filmfare Awards

Year Category Outcome Work Notes 1974 Best Screenplay Zanjeer As "Salim-Javed" 1974 Best Story Zanjeer 1976 Deewar1976 Best Dialogue Deewar 1976 Best Screenplay Deewar 1983 Shakti 1984 Best Story Betaab 1985 Mashaal 1986 Arjun 1989 Best Lyricist "Ek Do Teen" from Tezaab 1990 Best Dialogue Main Azaad Hoon Lyricist of The Year "Khwabon Ke Parindey" from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara "Senorita" from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 2012 "Jee Le Zara" from Talaash 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award - 2015 Album of The Year Dil Dhadakne Do Lyricist of The Year "Phir Bhi Yeh Zindagi" from Dil Dhadakne Do

Filmography

Work as part of Salim-Javed partnership (1971-1982) Year Film Language Director Cast Notes 1971 Andaz Hindi Ramesh Sippy Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini, Shammi Kapoor, Simi Garewal Written as "Salim-Javed"

Although the Salim–Javed partnership ended in 1982, two of their screenplays that had been completed earlier - Zamana and Mr. India, were released after their split. Adhikar Hindi S.M. Sagar Ashok Kumar, Nanda, Deb Mukherjee Haathi Mere Saathi M. A. Thirumugham Rajesh Khanna, Tanuja 1972 Seeta Aur Geeta Ramesh Sippy Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar 1973 Yaadon Ki Baaraat Nasir Hussain Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Vijay Arora, Tariq Khan Zanjeer Prakash Mehra Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, Pran 1974 Majboor Ravi Tandon Amitabh Bachchan, Parveen Babi, Pran Haath Ki Safai Prakash Mehra Randhir Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini, Simi Garewal, Ranjeet 1975 Deewaar Yash Chopra Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh Sholay Ramesh Sippy Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri Aakhri Dao A. Salaam Jeetendra, Saira Banu, Danny Denzongpa 1976 Premada Kanike Kannada V. Somashekhar Rajkumar, Aarathi Raja Nanna Raja A. V. Seshagiri Rao 1977 Immaan Dharam Hindi Desh Mukherjee Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Rekha Chacha Bhatija Manmohan Desai Dharmendra, Randhir Kapoor, Hema Malini 1978 Trishul Yash Chopra Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Hema Malini Don Chandra Barot Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Pran 1979 Kaala Patthar Yash Chopra Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Rakhee Gulzar, Shatrughan Sinha, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh 1980 Dostana Raj Khosla Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman, Pran (actor), Amrish Puri Shaan Ramesh Sippy Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee Gulzar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda 1981 Kranti Manoj Kumar Manoj Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Hema Malini, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Parveen Babi 1982 Shakti Ramesh Sippy Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Raakhee, Anil Kapoor 1985 Zamana Ramesh Talwar Rajesh Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Poonam Dhillon, Ranjeeta Kaur 1987 Mr. India Shekhar Kapur Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Amrish Puri

Solo work Year Film Language Director Cast Notes 1969 Yakeen Hindi Brij Sadanah Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore Dialogues only 1983 Betaab Rahul Rawail Sunny Deol, Amrita Singh Written as "Javed Akhtar" 1984 Duniya Ramesh Talwar Dilip Kumar, Rishi Kapoor, Amrita Singh Mashaal Yash Chopra Dilip Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman 1985 Arjun Rahul Rawail Sunny Deol, Dimple Kapadia SaagarRamesh Sippy Rishi Kapoor, Kamal Haasan, Dimple Kapadia Meri Jung Subhash Ghai Anil Kapoor, Meenakshi Sheshadri 1987 Dacait Rahul Rawail Sunny Deol, Meenakshi Sheshadri 1989 Joshilaay Sibte Hassan Rizvi, Shekhar Kapur Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Meenakshi Sheshadri 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 Sanjay Kapoor, Tabu 1998 Kabhi Na KabhiPriyadarshanAnil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff 2004 Lakshya Farhan Akhtar Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Amitabh Bachchan 2006 Don: The Chase Begins Again Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra Remake of Don (1978)

Work as lyricist

Silsila (1981) Saath Saath (1982) Duniya (1984) Mashaal (1984) Saagar (1985) Arjun (1985) Mr. India (1987) Tezaab (1988) Jaadugar (1989) Joshilaay (1989) Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe (1989) Sailaab (1990) Jamai Raja (1990) Hafta Bandh (1991) Narsimha (1991) Khel (1992) Drohi (1992) Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993) Yugandhar (1993) Gardish (1993) 1942: A Love Story (1994) Papa Kehte Hai (1996) Dastak (1996) Sardari Begum (1996) Diljale (1996) Sapnay (Partially Shot at Same time) (1997) Border (1997) Virasat (1997) Daud (1997) Mrityudand (1997) Saaz (1997) Yes Boss (1997) Darmiyaan: In Between (1997) Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997) Jeans (1997) Wajood (1998) Kabhi Na Kabhi (1998) Bada Din (1998) Duplicate (1998) 1947 Earth (1999) Godmother (1999) Baadshah (1999) Arjun Pandit (1999) Laawaris (1999) Dillagi (1999) Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) Refugee (2000) Karobaar (2000) Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000) Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya (2000) Champion (2000) Gang (2000) Dil Chahta Hai (2001) Zubeidaa (2001) Lagaan (2001) Abhay (2001) Moksha (2001) Pyar Ki Dhun (2002) Agni Varsha (2002) Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai (2002) Badhaai Ho Badhaai (2002) Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai? (2002) Satta (2003) Love at Times Square (2003) The Hero: Love Story of a Spy (2003) Armaan (2003) Chalte Chalte (2003) Kuch Naa Kaho (2003) Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) L.O.C. Kargil (2003) Tehzeeb (2003) Main Hoon Na (2004) Veer-Zaara (2004) Lakshya (2004) Charas (2004) Kyun! Ho Gaya Na... (2004) Dobara (2004) Swades (2004) Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2004) Kisna: The Warrior Poet (2005) Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005) Dil Jo Bhi Kahey... (2005) Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) Don (2006) Traffic Signal (2007) Namastey London (2007) Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007) Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal (2007) Om Shanti Om (2007) Jodhaa Akbar (2008) Rock On!! (2008) Luck by Chance (2009) Life Partner (2009) What's Your Raashee? (2009) Wake Up Sid (2009) My Name is Khan (2010) Karthik Calling Karthik (2010) Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey (2010) Aisha (2010) Red Alert: The War Within (2010) Prem Kaa Game (2010) Don 2: The King is Back (2011) Ekk Deewana Tha (2012) Talaash (2012) Vishwaroop (2013) Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) Rock On 2 (2016) Mohenjo Daro (2016) Raees (2017) Poster Boys (2017) — Segment: Kudiyan Shehar Diyan Gold (2018) Paltan (2018) Namastey England (2018) Gully Boy (2019) Panipat (2019) Panga (2020) Toofaan (2021) The Archies (2023) Dunki (2023) Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (2023) Yudhra (2024) Border 2 (2026) — Lyrics reused from Border (1997) Governor (2026) Batwara 1947 (2026)

Work as a dialogue writer only Yakeen (1969)