Happy birthday to the legendary poet, scriptwriter, and lyricist of Bollywood, Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar is a highly acclaimed Indian poet, lyricist, and scriptwriter, born on January 17, 1945. Famous for his profound and socially relevant poetry, Akhtar has made significant contributions to Indian cinema with his impactful writings. His powerful and meaningful lyrics have graced numerous Bollywood movie songs, earning him applause.

The legendary poet was initially named 'Jadoo', which means magic. Akhtar’s role as scriptwriter created impactful narratives for various films. Beyond his contribution to the Indian film industry, he is widely recognized for his evoking poetry and participation in social and political activism in India.

Early Life and Education

Javed Akhtar was born in Gwalior, British India. His father, Jan Nisar Akhtar, was a renowned Urdu poet, lyricist, and Indian film scriptwriter. His mother was a brilliant mind, a popular teacher, a talented writer, and a literary critic. Javed Sahab’s early exposure to literature and poetry played a vital role in shaping his own artistic fondness.

He pursued his higher education at Safia College in Bhopal and later graduated with a gold medal in both Urdu and Persian from Gwalior University.

He tied the knot with his first wife, Honey Irani, in 1972 and had two children, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar. In 1984, he got married to Shabana Azmi. Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar are one of the favourite Bollywood couples. During many social interactions, they openly talked about their romantic gestures, such as her 50th birthday gift, which she considers the most special one.

Career

His acclaimed work as a scriptwriter made significant contributions to the Hindi film industry. His screenplay and dialogues often reflect a deep understanding of societal issues and human emotions. Some of his notable works are ‘Zanjeer', 'Deewar',' Sholay', 'Haathi Mere Saathi', 'Seeta Aur Geeta', 'Don', 'Trishul', etc.

Javed Sahab gained widespread recognition as a lyricist, penning impactful and poetic verses for more than 1100 Indian films. His collaborations with music directors such as RD Burman and A.R. Rahman have produced timeless and memorable tracks.

Beyond his contributions to the arts, Akhtar has been actively involved in social and cultural issues. He has been vocal about his thoughts on secularism, communal harmony, and the welfare of artists.

Awards and recognition

Javed Akhtar’s talent and impact have been acknowledged with numerous awards, including national film awards and filmfare awards.

For films, he won the national award for best lyricist five times. Of these three, they were in an unprecedented row and won the Film Fare Award for Best Script or Best Lyricist sixteen times.

Apart from this, his recognition as a social activist was honoured with Padma Bhushan by the Government of India, given to eminent citizens for excellence in their field and distinguished contribution to society. Some of his other national recognitions were:

Apart from awards, India Today, a weekly magazine equal to Time and News Week, has included Javed Akhtar’s name in a list of the 50 most powerful people in the country. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha as a Member of Parliament by the President of India in 2010. He was the driving force behind the recently passed Copyright Amendment Bill, which restores dignity to lyrics and music composers and gives them what is rightfully theirs in terms of royalty.

Javed Akhtar was one of the most successful scriptwriters and lyricists of all time. His phenomenal contribution to Indian cinema has been remarkable. Additionally, his tremendous contribution to society as an activist and reformist is highly recognized. Giftalove wishes Javed Sahab a very happy and blessed birthday.