Best of Javed Akhtar

Remember those magically inspiring lines narrated by Farhan Akhtar in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara?

“Dilon mein tum apni betabiyan leke chal rahe ho. Toh zinda ho tum!
Nazar mein khwaabon ki bijliyan leke chal rahe ho. Toh zinda ho tum!
Hawa ke jhonkon ke jaise aazad rehna seekho.
Tum ek dariya ke jaise, leharon mein behna seekho.
Har ek lamhe se tum milo khole apni baahein.
Har ek pal ek naya samaa dekhe yeh nigahen.
Jo apni aankhon mein hairaniyan leke chal rahe ho. Toh zinda ho tum!
Dilon mein tum apni betabiyan leke chal rahe ho. Toh zinda ho tum!”

Javed Akhtar is an Indian political activist, poet, lyricist and screenwriter. Javed Akhtar has been giving us beautiful, heart-warming content that has touched our hearts since 1971. He’s a prolific writer who can be credited for giving Bollywood its best.

Javed ji may be in his mid-70s but the hallmark of his writing has been his ability to change with the times and catch the pulse of the younger generation with every passing decade. No doubt, he’s as popular today as he was even almost 50 years ago when he started his career in Bollywood as a scriptwriter along with Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan. Together, they gave us memorable films like Sholay, Deewar, Don and Mr India. The duo split later, but Javed Akhtar continued as a scriptwriter and lyricist for Hindi film songs. Winner of the Sahitya Akademi award in Urdu, Javed Akhtar has made Urdu the language of the masses through his songs in Hindi films.

Some of his memorable songs are

“Yeh kahaan aa gaye hum” from Silsila(1981)

“Saagar jaisi aankhonwali yeh toh bata tera naam hai kya” from Saagar(1985)

“Hawa hawai” from Mr. India(1987)

“Ek do teen” from Tezaab(1988)

“Ek ladki ko dekha” from 1942: A Love Story(1994)

“Sandese aate hain” from Border(1997)

And more recently, all the memorable songs from films like Wake Up Sid, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Dhadakne Do and Gold. Wait! If you thought he can’t match the latest hip-hop beats, you’re mistaken because he has also given the lyrics for the “Doori” song in the latest musical hit Gully Boy.

But Javed Saab’s fame does not rest merely on his achievements in Bollywood. As already mentioned, he’s a winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu, which proves his mettle as a writer in the literary world. He has numerous albums of Ghazals with singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Jagjit Singh, Asha Bhonsle and Hariharan. Shankar Mahadevan’s breath-taking “Breathless” was also penned by Javed Akhtar. Take a look at these lines from one of his Ghazals,

“jeena mushkil hai ki asaan zara dekh to lo log lagte hain pareshaan zaraa dekh to lo”

or these from one of his nazms,

“Main banjaara waqt ke kitne shahron se guzraa huun lekin  Waqt ke is ik shahr se jaate jaate mud ke dekh raha huun soch raha huun tum se mera ye naata bhi tuut raha hai tum ne mujh ko chhoda tha jis shahr mein aa kar Waqt ka ab vo shahr bhi mujh se chhuut raha hai”

Some of his shayaris can touch the deepest chords of the heart:

“Darr ham ko bhi lagta hai raste ke sannaate se  lekin ek safar par ai dil ab jaana to hoga.”

“Neki ik din kaam aati hai ham ko kya samjhate ho ham ne be-bas marte dekhe kaise pyare pyare log.”

“Tab ham donon vaqt churaa kar laate the ab milte hain jab bhi fursat hoti hai.”

Javed Akhtar’s popularity and worldwide recognition have made him an in-demand author in other languages as well. His Hindi and Urdu writings have been translated into English as books titled, In Other Words, Quiver and Talking Songs.  He’s a regular speaker at poetry and literary festivals all over the world. His vast knowledge of the history of Hindi cinema makes him one of television’s most popular anchors on film-related programmes. DTH broadcaster Tata Sky even has a channel dedicated to Javed Akhtar, in which he discusses various facets of his own and others’ poetry.

In the last decade, Javed Akhtar, along with his wife, Shabana Azmi, has been fighting for democratic values in India. He doesn’t shy away from speaking against right-wing politics and religious fundamentalism although it has often made him the centre of controversy. His posts on social media often invoke sharp reactions from his detractors, but he refuses to be bogged down by them even at this age. At heart, he’s still a poet who dreams of a better world.