Javed Akhtar birthday special: His poems can inspire life's philosophy

Born in Madhya Pradesh in 1945, lyricist-poet-writer Javed Akhtar turns 76 on Sunday. Javed has been honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award (2013), Padma Shri (1999) and Padma Bhushan (2007), He also has five National Film Awards to his credit. Last year, he received the Richard Dawkins Award.

After writing dialogues for small films, Javed teamed up with Salim Khan for Andaz and Adhikar in 1971. Together, the duo went on to make a name for not just themselves, but the entire community of writers. While Rajesh Khanna is credited with giving them their stardom, Amitabh Bachchan’s Sholay (1975) was their career-defining project.

Of the 24 films they wrote the scripts for, only four were not successful at the box office. The writer duo, fondly known as Salim-Javed, split up in 1982, after ego clashes emerged between them.

Apart from writing some of the biggest blockbusters in Bollywood, including Sholay, Javed Akhtar also has a rich bank of couplets and poetry that have not been used in films, but are equally amazing. Here, we take a look at some of his lines that can inspire people in today’s world:

1.Wo muflison se kahta tha ki din badal bhi sakte hain

Wo jabiron se kahta tha tumhare sar pe sone ke jo taaj hain, kabhi pighal bhi sakte hain

Wo bandishon se kahta tha main tum ko tod sakta hun.

2. Ghalat baaton ko ḳhāmoshi se sunna, haamīi bhar lena, bahut hain faayde ismein, magar achchha nahin lagta.

3. Mujhko yakeen hai, sach kehti thi jo bhi ammi kehti thi

4. Jeena Mushkil Hai ke Asaan zara dekh to lo, log lagte hain pareshan, zara dekh to lo

Ye Naya shahar to hai khoob basaya tumne, kyu purana hua veeran, zara dekh to lo

Tum ye kehte ho ki mai gair hoon, fir bhi, shayad nikal aye koi pehchaan, zara dekh to lo