Happy Birthday Javed Akhtar!

A brand new year awaits us with a box full of happiness that is dying to be opened, so as to spread the fragrance of joy everywhere. Keeping this aura of festivity in mind, BollyCurry is here with yet another birthday wish for a man who is no less than a legend in the sphere of writing, Javed Akhtar.

World renowned writer, poet, lyricist and script-writer, Akhtar was born on January 17, 1945. Originally named Jaadoo by his parents, Akhtar is the man behind the success of many films, songs, and various other forms of entertainment Bollywood has ever served.

Akhtar's first marriage was to actress and screenwriter Honey Irani, with whom he has two kids; writer-director Zoya Akhtar and actor-singer-writer-director-producer Farhan Akhtar. The two went on to separate, and he then married popular actor-activist Shabana Azmi.

Akhtar is most popularly known as a part of the legendary screenwriting duo, Salim-Javed. Akhtar met Salim Khan while he was struggling to make name in the Bollywood industry, who at that time was a struggling actor. The two met on the sets of Sarhadi Lootera, for which Akhtar was a clap-boy. Owing to a sudden need for a dialogue writer, the director of the movie, SM Sagar, gave Akhtar a chance to pen the dialogues for the film along with Khan. This was the beginning of a strong friendship and partnership, and the two went on to write some memorable movies together. However, it was the popular actor Rajesh Khanna who gave Salim-Javed their biggest break in the form of Haati Mere Saathi (1971), for which the duo wrote the screenplay. The movie did extremely well, and the duo went on to write for a number of super hit movies, including Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973), Deewar (1975), Sholay (1975) and Mr India (1987), among many others.

Due to certain professional and personal issues, the legendary duo of Salim-Javed parted ways in the year 1981, and went on to pursue their individual careers. Akhtar soon transitioned into composing lyrics, and went on to write for popular movies such as Lagaan (2001), Swades (2004), Jodha Akbar (2008), and Vishwaroop (2013), amongst many others.

Akhtar is the proud recipient of 13 Filmfare Awards and 5 National Awards, amongst others. He also went on to gain the title of Padma Shri in 1999, and Padma Bhushan in 2007. Only recently, he was bestowed with the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu, which is India's second highest literary honor, for his poetry collection, Lava.
 

Today, as we celebrate his birthday, BollyCurry presents to you a playlist of his compositions as a tribute to his special day. 

Author: Shikha A.

Editor(s): Ritchelle C., Pooja B., and Sonia R.

Graphics: Shikha A.