Javed Akhtar Biography

One of India’s most noted poets, lyricists and scriptwriters Javed Akhtar was born on January 17, 1945 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. He, along with Salim, were a part of the noted script writing duo of Salim Javed in the 1970s and 1980s.

He completed his graduation from Saifiya College in Bhopal. Arriving in Bombay in 1964, he started writing dialogues for movies to make a living for himself. Initially, he used to write his scripts in Urdu, which were then translated into Hindi.

His father Jan Nisar Akhtar was a famous Urdu poet. Javed Akhtar was earlier married to Honey Irani, a noted scriptwriter. After Javed’s divorce from Irani, he married Shabana Azmi, who in turn is the daughter of another noted Urdu poet, Kaifi Azmi.

Some of the notable movies for which he has written scripts(some as a part of the Salim-Javed duo) include movies like Lakshya, Kabhi Na Kabhi, Prem, Roop ki Rani, Choron ka Raja, Sholay,Kaala Patthar, Shaan, Kranti, Saagar, Shakti, Don etc.

He has won 7 Filmfare Best Lyricist Awards in his illustrious career and was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007.