Son of the well-known Urdu poet and film lyricist, Jan Nisar Akhtar and Safia Akhtar, teacher and writer, Javed Akhtar belongs to a lineage that can be traced back to seven generations of writers. The highly respected Urdu poet, Majaz, was his mother's brother and the work of Muzter Khairabadi, his grandfather, is looked upon as a milestone in Urdu Poetry.
Both Jan Nisar Akhtar & Safia Akhtar were professors at Hamidia College, Bhopal. Javed Akhtar did his schooling at the Cambridge School in Bhopal, Calvin Talukadar College in Lucknow, Minto Circle at Aligarh, and graduated from Saifiya College, Bhopal in 1964.
Javed Akhtar's body of work can be categorized under three distinct categories, that of a script writer, a lyricist, and a poet. Along with his ex-partner, Salim, he scripted super hits like, "Zanjeer","Deewar", "Sholay", "Haathi Mere Saathi","Seeta Aur Geeta", "Don","Trishul", etc. Salim Javed as a writer-duo gave to Amitabh Bachchan and to Indian Cinema the memorable persona of the "Angry Young Man". After the split from his partner Salim (in 1981), he has written a list of successful films, notable amongst them are; Sagar, Mr.India, Betaab, Arjun, etc.
Javed Akhtar has won the prestigious Filmfare Award ten times, seven times for Best Script, and thrice for Best Lyrics for" Ek Ladki Ko Dekha...' in "1942-A Love Story", for 'Ghar Se Nikalte Hi....' for "Papa Kahte Hain" and for "Sandese Aate Hain...." for "Border". He has also won the 1995 & 1997 Screen Videocon Awards as the Best Lyricist. He also won first 'ZEE AWARD' for Best Lyricist for 'Sandese Aate Hain' from the film "Border". His songs from the film "Silsila", "Mr. India", "Sagar", and "Tezaab" have been extremely popular, particularly the number 'Ek Do Teen.....', which became a trend setter. His lyrics in the film "1942 - A Love Story" especially the song 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha...' revived the long lost trend of film songs with clean literary flavour.
Javed has won the 1996 National Award for Best Lyricist for the film "Saaz", the 1997 National Award for "Border" and the 1998 National Award for Best Lyricist for the film "Godmother".
Javed has collaborated with Mr. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on a ghazal album titled 'Sangam'. This album had a record sale and is the most successful Ghazal album. His second music album "Tum yaad aaye" was the highest selling non-film album of the year 1997. The third album "Silsilay", along with Mr. Jagjit Singh went also recorded roaring sales. The blend of Javed Akhtar and Jagjit Singh was so effective that the album did not only become popular, but also became Jagjit Singh's highest ever selling Ghazal Album. Javed Akhtar's latest non-film collaboration "Breathless" with singer Shanker Mahadevan is the top music album of 1998 in the non-film category.
Javed Akhtar started writing Urdu poetry in 1980. His first collection of nazms and ghazals entitled, 'TARKASH'had a very successful release in 1995. It is already in its seventh edition in Hindi, and fourth edition in Urdu. It has received rave reviews both as a book and as India's first audio book (available on cassettes and CD). The audio book has sold more than a hundred thousand copies.
In 1999, the President of India honoured Javed Akhtar with the title of "Padmashree" for his literary contribution. He is married to Shabana Azmi, India's most respected actress and social activist. "1947"("Earth") provides Javed with another opportunity to pair up with A.R. Rahman, to create beautiful and haunting music for Mehta's epic film.
