Lyricist, screenplay writer and poet - Javed Akhtar has scripted many memorable films. As a lyricist, Javed Akhtar has achieved unparalleled success and at present he is the most respected songwriter in India.

Javed Akhtar belongs to a family whose lineage can be traced back to seven generations of writers. Son of the famous progressive poet Jan Nisar Akhtar and Safia Akhtar, teacher and writer and nephew of renowned Urdu poet Majaz, Javed Akhtar has himself carved out a niche among the modern Urdu poets.

Javed Akhtar started writing Urdu poetry in 1980. His first collection of Nazms and Ghazals entitled, ‘TARKASH' has had a very successful release in 1995. It is already in its ninth edition in Hindi, and fifth edition in Urdu.  It has received rave reviews both as a book and as India's first audio book (available on cassettes and CD) brought out by PLUS MUSIC. The audio book has sold more than a hundred thousand copies.

Dr. David Matthews, formerly Senior Lecturer in Urdu and Nepali at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London University has translated TARKASH in English. The book, entitled as "QUIVER" was released by Prof. Amartya Sen. TARKASH has been translated in Bengali by the noted Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyaya. The book is also translated into Gujarati and Kannada. The celebrated painter M.F. Husain has painted sixteen canvases based on Javed Akhtar's poems in Tarkash.

Other books include “Talking Films” & “Talking Songs” published by Oxford University Press featuring Javed Akhtar in conversation with Nasreen Munni Kabir a London based journalist.

Alongwith his co-writer, Salim, he scripted super hit films like, 'Zanjeer', 'Deewar',' Sholay', 'Haathi Mere Saathi', 'Seeta Aur Geeta', 'Don', 'Trishul' and many more. Salim-Javed as a writer-duo gave to Indian Cinema the memorable persona of the ‘Angry Young Man’. Javed Akhtar has also written films like 'Sagar', 'Mr. India', 'Betaab', 'Arjun' and Lakshya.

Winner of the coveted Filmfare Award fourteen times for Best Lyrics and Best Script, he has also received the National Award five times including the Best Lyricist award for three years in succession for the films Saaz [1997], Border [1998], and Godmother [1999]. He has won numerous awards for best lyricist in the last 2 decades including - Screen Award, Zee Award, IIFA Award, Sansui Award and others. Recently he was conferred with the Lifetime achievement award at MAMI’s International Film Festival of Mumbai,

In 2007 he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan. He has also been previously awarded with the Awadh Ratna by the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Padmashri by the President of India.

Recently he addressed a seminar on 'Challenges of Islamophobia' at Dublin, organised by Amnesty International. He has also addressed many seminars at reputed international universities like Harvard, Columbia, Cambridge, Oxford, Berkeley and Chicago among others. He has also spoken at Indian universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University and Vishwa Bharati University.

On the initiative of President Abdul Kalam, Javed Akhtar has written five poems on the Indian flag. Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Zakir Hussain, L Subramaniam and E Srinivas have interpreted these musically.

He is a founder member of the respected Muslim Intelligentsia-a group that has been vocal against fundamentalism of all hues and seeks to lead the Muslims to concentrate on education and women's rights.

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti 2^nd October 2003 Javed Akhtar released the declaration of MUSLIMS FOR SECULAR DEMOCRACY. MFSD has not only taken a secular, liberal and progressive stand, but to a great extent has succeeded in building a consensus on controversial issues of Muslims such as Uniform Civil Code, Triple Talaq, Haj Subsidy etc. It is heartening to note that MFSD has found support amongst both Teachers and Students Associations of Aligarh Muslim University. Chapters of MFSD have been launched in cities like Aligarh, Allahabad, Lucknow, Kanpur and Mumbai. Javed Akhtar is presently the President of this organisation.

He is an active member of “Citizens for Justice and Peace”. CJP is an organization for that has kept the Gujarat Genocide issue alive and has taken Gujarat government to court. CJP is also involved in bringing to the fore the plight of common citizens affected by acts of violence and terror including the train blasts in Mumbai.

Javed Akhtar is an avid reader with a keen interest in politics. His poetry reflects both his political awareness and his literary concerns. He has also written many poems against communalism, social injustice, National Integration and for Women's Rights. Ministry of Human Resource Development has declared his song, beckoning the misguided youth to come forward and build the country, the National Anthem for Youth in 1995.

He is married to Shabana Azmi, India's most respected actress and social activist and Ex-Member of Parliament.