Javed Akhtar

Writing

Javed Akhtar

Born

1945-01-17 (81)

Known for

Writing

Credits

61 titles

Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civilian honours. He is considered as one of the greatest screenwriters in the history of Hindi Cinema. Akhtar came to recognition in the duo Salim–Javed, and earned his breakthrough as a screenwriter with 1973's Zanjeer. He went on to write the films Deewaar and Sholay, both released in 1975; they earned a cult following, and had a significant impact in popular culture. He later earned praise for his work as a lyricist, winning the National Film Aw…

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 3 titles

2010s · 7 titles

Shamitabh poster
6.0

A mute, aspiring actor joins forces with a man who has a powerful voice. Together they take the film industry by storm, but will their egos get in the way?

Shamitabh

2015

Manto poster
7.4

In Bombay's seedy-shiny film world, Manto and his stories are widely read and accepted. But as sectarian violence engulfs the nation, Manto makes the difficult choice of leaving his beloved Bombay. In Lahore, he finds himself bereft of friends and unable to find takers for his writings.

Manto

2018

Jai Ho poster
6.0

The Film brings to its viewers, a hitherto unseen and unheard narrative of one of the greatest musicians the world has ever known: A. R. Rahman

Jai Ho

2014

Bareilly Ki Barfi poster
6.9

Bitti Mishra is a bohemian Bareilly girl who falls deeply in love with Pritam Vidrohi, an author because she admires his progressive way of thinking. Finding him though proves to be as hard as looking for a needle in the haystack. So Bitti seeks the help of the local printing press-owner, Chirag Dubey on her journey of love.

Bareilly Ki Barfi

2017

Hanuman Da Damdaar poster
5.2

Anjani has not forgotten how her son almost lost his life. Now to protect him, she shelters him in abid to keep him from harming himself again. She doesn't even allow him to go out of the house. When his father Senapati Kesari returns from war, he is upset to find that his brave son has become a scared little boy. Maruti feels bad that his father isn't proud of him, and prays to God to make him the bravest kid in the world. God answers his prayers and leads Maruti into a series of jungle adventures. His experiences and new friends lead him to metamorphose from a Bhola-Bhala Bajrangi to HANUMAN DA DAMDAAR!

Hanuman Da Damdaar

2017

Bollywood and Beyond: A Century of Indian Cinema poster
5.2

Indian cinema has the largest audience of any art form on the planet. With a population of over a billion, India has recently enjoyed an economic boom and its movie stars are treated like deities. Today their fame stretches across the diaspora, in what has become a truly global industry. As Indian cinema celebrates its centenary, Sanjeev Bhaskar travels across the subcontinent to get under the skin of the Indian movie business as never before. From young hopefuls in the slums of Mumbai to superstars like Kareena Kapoor and Aamir Khan, he meets the stars of the silver screen and the people behind the scenes - legendary producers, directors, musicians and choreographers - exploring the stories behind some of the greatest films ever made.

Bollywood and Beyond: A Century of Indian Cinema

2015

Bird of Dusk poster
NR

An insight into the life of late writer-director Rituparno Ghosh, the iconic cultural figure from West Bengal (India), who pushed and transgressed the boundaries of sexuality, feminism, and freedom of thought. The film is about an artist's relationship to his city Calcutta and is based on his personal memoirs, archival material, and conversations with cast, crew, and family.

Bird of Dusk

2018

2000s · 2 titles

Series credits

Indian Idol poster
5.7

The Indian version of the Pop Idol format.

Indian Idol

2004

Indian Idol poster
5.7

The Indian version of the Pop Idol format.

Indian Idol

2004

Koffee with Karan poster
5.9

Koffee with Karan is an Indian talk show hosted by filmmaker and television personality Karan Johar and produced by Dharmatic Entertainment, the digital content division of Johar's production company Dharma Productions

Koffee with Karan

2004

No artwork available
NR

Host Farooq Shaikh interviews many well-known Bollywood faces as well as television celebrities and gives a peek into their private and professional lives.

Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai

2002

Kaun Banega Crorepati poster
6.6

Hosted by India's biggest superstar, Amitabh Bachchan, one of the biggest shows is here to entertain millions, change lives and make dreams come true.

Kaun Banega Crorepati

2000

The Story of Film: An Odyssey poster
7.7

A worldwide guided tour of the greatest movies ever made and the story of international cinema through the history of cinematic innovation.

The Story of Film: An Odyssey

2011

The Roshans poster
7.9

This documentary series chronicles the trials and triumphs of Bollywood's iconic Roshan family — musician Roshan Lal Nagrath, Rajesh, Rakesh and Hrithik.

The Roshans

2025

Angry Young Men poster
8.2

Angry Young Men is the story of Salim-Javed, legendary screenwriters of 1970s Hindi cinema. Together, they created the archetype of the Angry Young Man - a brooding anti-hero who captured the imagination of an entire nation with his rage, defiance, and quest for social justice. Like the character they created, Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, two outsiders to the Hindi film industry, defied all odds, questioning the position of writers and demanding recognition as much as the reigning stars of that time. Their break-up made headlines for many years and Indian cinema never saw a cultural collaboration as powerful again. This is a personal and candid account of their lives, their writing and their legacy.

Angry Young Men

2024

TED Talks India poster
NR

TED Talks is a Hindi talk show aired on Star Plus. A dynamic platform for creativity, innovation and change, TED brings to you ideas from and of the world’s original thinkers, inventors and visionaries. Shah Ruck Khan with his charismatic wit and charm, makes it an entertaining, and enriching experience.

TED Talks India

2017

No artwork available
NR

Masala Chai with Rahul Mahajan is a celebrity podcast where stars like Riteish Deshmukh and Rajpal Yadav share personal stories, laughs, and life lessons over a cup of chai.

Masala Chai with Rahul Mahajan

2025

Behind the camera

Sholay poster
7.1

After his family is slain by notorious bandit Gabbar Singh, former Inspector Thakur Baldev Singh enlists low-level outlaws Jai and Veeru to capture Gabbar and seek revenge.

Sholay

1975

Don poster
6.9

DCP DeSilva sees a way to bring to justice the feared head of a criminal empire by recruiting a man named Vijay, who looks exactly like the crime boss. The ruse works too well, and soon Vijay finds his life in danger when DeSilva, the only one who knows his true identity, dies.

Don

2006

Mr. India poster
6.9

A poor but big-hearted man takes orphans into his home. After discovering his scientist father's invisibility device, he rises to the occasion and fights to save his children and all of India from the clutches of a megalomaniac.

Mr. India

1987

Deewaar poster
7.2

Haunted by the past, Vijay turns to crime, while Ravi, his brother, becomes an honest police officer. Fate pits them against each other when Ravi is sent to nab Vijay.

Deewaar

1975

Lakshya poster
6.8

An aimless, jobless, irresponsible grown man joins the army and matures into a battlefield hero.

Lakshya

2004

Don poster
6.6

A ruthless gangster named Don is killed during a scuffle with the police. Since only DSP D'Silva knows of this incident, he recruits Vijay, who is a spitting image of Don, to replace the original Don and infiltrate his gang. D'Silva plans to nab the entire gang, but when he dies during a raid, the secret that Vijay is not Don is also buried with him.

Don

1978

Don poster
6.6

A ruthless gangster named Don is killed during a scuffle with the police. Since only DSP D'Silva knows of this incident, he recruits Vijay, who is a spitting image of Don, to replace the original Don and infiltrate his gang. D'Silva plans to nab the entire gang, but when he dies during a raid, the secret that Vijay is not Don is also buried with him.

Don

1978

Haathi Mere Saathi poster
7.1

Raju becomes very attached to his four elephants after they save his life. His wife, however, fears for her child and tells him that he must choose between the animals and his family.

Haathi Mere Saathi

1971

Aisha poster
5.2

Aisha, who loves playing matchmaker much to her friend Arjun's disapproval, finds a new target in the simple Shefali. But in the process, she ends up ruining her own relationship with close friends.

Aisha

2010

Armaan poster
5.6

Dr. Siddharth Sinha is a dedicated selfless doctor who dreams of building a state-of-the-art hospital with all the modern instruments and amenities for patient care . His foster son Akash shares his dream . Akash falls in love with Neha Mathur , an anaesthetist in the same hospital . In a friend's party , Akash meets Sonia who is a spoilt daughter of a millionaire Gulshan Kapoor . Sonia develops an infatuation for Akash . Gulshan Kapoor proposes to Dr. Siddharth Sinha that he will donate a big sum of money to his hospital , on the condition that Akash marries Sonia . Dr. Siddharth Sinha declines but dies of a heart attack a few days later . Burdened with fulfilling his father's dream , Akash decides to marry Sonia sacrificing his own love . But even after marriage Sonia is jealous of Neha and constantly accuses Akash of infidelity which leaves him in a dilemma , torn between two women .

Armaan

2003

Meri Jung poster
7.5

When evil lawyer Thakral prosecutes innocent family man Deepak and sends him to his death, his family is shattered--and when his son Arun grows up, he's determined to avenge his parents' suffering.

Meri Jung

1985

Kaala Patthar poster
7.5

Vijay Singh is a disgraced former Merchant-Navy officer who is branded as a coward after he abandons his crew during an emergency. Guilt-ridden and trying to forget his past, he takes up work at a coal mine where he gets trapped with other miners after a flood hits them.

Kaala Patthar

1979

Jhoothi Shaan poster
10.0

Ranimaa, a one-time empress, refuses to believe that her home is no longer a palace, even though she and her four children have turned it into a hotel. So when the police inform her that four bank robbers have checked in and they need to search every nook and cranny, she haughtily stands in the way of justice.

Jhoothi Shaan

1991

Shaan poster
6.8

DSP Shiv Kumar returns home to his wife Sheetal and their young daughter and announces that he has been transferred to Bombay. Shiv Kumar has two brothers, Vijay and Ravi, who live in Mumbai. They are intelligent and capable guys, but spend their time loafing about the city and swindling unsuspecting people.

Shaan

1980

Majboor poster
7.2

A terminally ill man frames himself for murder to allow his family to collect the reward money. After a successful operation, he escapes police custody and searches for the real killer.

Majboor

1974

Arjun poster
5.3

Mr. Malwankar lives a small tenement in Grant Road, Bombay, with his son, Arjun, daughter, Sudha, and wife, Rukmini, who is his second wife, as his first wife passed away. Although he is well past his retirement age, he continues to work for an abusive employer, Ashok. Arjun's attempts at seeking employment are all in vain. One day when hoodlums are beating up a man, he intervenes, beats the hoodlums up with the help of half of his friends. This is when his life changes forever. One of his friends', Mohan, is killed; Arjun finds out who the killers are, and kills them in broad daylight; he is arrested, and subsequently released, only to be told by his father that he is no longer welcome. A politician, Shiv Kumar Chougule, takes a liking to Arjun and employs him, and gives him all the support and assistance he needs to fight hoodlums. Arjun now finds he has a mission in life, and is quite content

Arjun

1985

Shakti poster
7.3

A policeman's son becomes a criminal after a childhood incident creates a rift between them.

Shakti

1982

Trishul poster
6.4

Vijay Kumar is the illegitimate son of a construction baron, Raj Kumar Gupta and his first love, Shanti, whom Raj had given up in order to marry a wealthy heiress. Raj does not know of this son, who grows up and after his mother's death comes to Delhi to take revenge on the Gupta family by destroying the family's business and their relation with each other.

Trishul

1978

Dacait poster
5.5

Arjun Yadav return from the city after completing his studies to get settled in his village with his family consisting of his mother Devi Chaudaran, his older brother Amrit and sister. Arjun finds out that Amrit and Thakur Bhanwar Singh does not get along quiet well and attempts to be a peace-maker between the two. One day situation takes a turn for the worse when Amrit is killed, Devi Chaudaran loses her senses, Arjun's sister is raped and he himself is beaten and tied to a tree. Arjun is then rescued by some sympathetic villagers and run off with his childhood friend Makan Malla in the deep ravines only to turn an outlaw whose only motive is to avenge the killings of his family members.

Dacait

1987

Khel poster
6.4

A trio of cons, tired of small jobs, get together to con a rich, widowed woman, desperately seeking her long-lost grandchild and sole heir. The trio obtain jobs at her estate and set off their plan.

Khel

1992

Seeta and Geeta poster
6.9

Long-suffering heiress Seeta is treated worse than a servant by her abusive money-grubbing aunt. Meanwhile, her long-lost twin sister Geeta grows up to be a gutsy street performer. One day, the girls unintentionally swap places.

Seeta and Geeta

1972

Kranti poster
6.7

The film takes place in 19th Century British India and is the story of the fight for independence from the British in the years spanning from 1825 to 1875. It tells the story of two men who led the war against British Rule, Sanga and Bharat both of whom call themselves Kranti.

Kranti

1981

Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja poster
5.7

Jagmohan Jugral kills his twin brother, Manmohan, in order to escape from Customs Officer Verma. In the chase that follows, Jagmohan also kills Verma, and a doctor, Ashok Soni. With their deaths their children, Ramesh and Seema, are orphaned and end up at an orphanage. Both get separated when Seema is adopted by a respected couple. Ramesh runs away from the orphange and is adopted by Girdharilal, a career thief. Ramesh learns all the skills of thievery from Girdharilal. Ramesh is now grown up a better career thief than Gidharilal, and Seema too has grown up. Both are on the look-out for Jugral, who is now known as a very respectable citizen.

Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja

1993

Yaadon Ki Baaraat poster
7.9

Three brothers are separated after their parents are murdered by a gangster. Years later, they find their paths intertwined around a family song.

Yaadon Ki Baaraat

1973

Yaadon Ki Baaraat poster
7.9

Three brothers are separated after their parents are murdered by a gangster. Years later, they find their paths intertwined around a family song.

Yaadon Ki Baaraat

1973

Dostana poster
6.0

Two close friends decide to enter law enforcement – one a police officer, the other a lawyer – but their friendship begins to unravel when they both fall in love with the same woman.

Dostana

1980

Duniya poster
7.3

Framed for a crime he didn't commit, Mohan Kumar loses his wife, son and freedom, then he emerges from prison, vowing revenge.

Duniya

1984

Saagar poster
6.6

Raja, a fisherman is secretly in love with Mona. When wealthy Ravi comes to live with his grandmother, Kamladevi, he sees Mona and falls in love with her. Mona also reciprocates his love. Raja is devastated by this turn of events. But when Kamladevi gets to know that Ravi is seeing Mona, she puts pressure on Mona to give up Ravi and marry someone else.

Saagar

1985

Joshilaay poster
6.0

Dara and Karan, the sons of two of the victims of dacoit Jogi Thakur, wait many years to exact their revenge. When the Thakur's colleague Raja Singh cheats him and runs away with his loot, Jogi is arrested and sentenced for life imprisonment. Years later Jogi escapes from the prison to get hold of Raja and take back his booty, but finds his face on all the posters in the village to find him dead or alive with a reward of fifty thousand rupees. When Karan gets to know Jogi has escaped he goes looking for him. Dara also join hands with Karan to even the score with the dreaded dacoit.

Joshilaay

1989

Immaan Dharam poster
7.5

Ahmed and Mohan Kumar Saxena are petty thieves, and con-men. They career is spent as false witnesses near the Bombay courts, where they get paid a set sum of rupees for false depositions. This changes when they meet and are influenced by Kabir Das, and decide to go straight. They find that it's virtually impossible to earn a living as honest citizens. Then Kabir Das is arrested and imprisoned by a murder he claims he did not commit, and the duo promise to help him, and find out who the real killer is, but they themselves end up getting in trouble.

Immaan Dharam

1977

Main Azaad Hoon poster
6.4

A newspaper reporter exploits an ordinary man for few rupees to pose as a man who is fighting against the corrupt politicians and prints imaginary stories in his name to improve the circulation of her newspaper. People take him for real and he becomes a powerful leader of poor man. One day the paper prints a letter in his name that he is going to end his life fighting corruption. This puts the ordinary man in a fix. He knows that at this juncture he can't refute the accuracy of all those stories. He also realizes that he is the sole hope of millions. Finally, he buckles under moral pressure and jumps from an incomplete multi-storied building and ends his life.

Main Azaad Hoon

1989

Magaadu poster
7.0

Two brothers are raised amidst difficulties, but one becomes a cop while the other takes to crime and becomes a gangster. Fate puts them against each other, which leads to disastrous consequences. It is a remake of Hindi film Deewaar (1975).

Magaadu

1976

Nippulanti Manishi poster
7.0

Vijay, an inspector, sets out to find his parents' murderers. With the help of a street-wise girl and a foe-turned-friend, he plans his revenge. It is s remake of the Hindi film Zanjeer (1973).

Nippulanti Manishi

1974

Prem poster
4.5

Sanjay Verma has been having hallucinations of a past life as Shantanu. He meets Sonia Verma, and recognizes her as the girl named Lachi in his past life. He attempts to impress this upon Sonia, who is engaged, and is to be married to Vikram Malocha.

Prem

1995

Zanjeer poster
6.9

A tough and honest police officer clashes with a crime boss who, unbeknownst to him, happens to be his parents' murderer.

Zanjeer

1973

Zamana poster
10.0

Poona-based Satish is a professional photographer and lives with his pregnant wife, Sudha, and son named Vinod. While developing some photographs with his friend, Shyamlal, they come across one that shows a man strangling another. They report this to the police, and shortly thereafter several men show up at Satish's house, take the photos,the negative, kill Satish, then go to hunt and kill Sudha, Vinod and Shyamlal, but they manage to escape and travel to Bombay, albeit separately. Sudha gives birth to a boy and names him Ravi. Years later, Vinod, who lives with Shyamlal, is a police inspector, while Ravi, who has taken to a life of crime, works for a gangster/respectable citizen named J.D. alias Jogeshwar Dayal - a man who Shyamlal can identify as their father's killer, and the very man who has just given Ravi a contract to kill Vinod.

Zamana

1985

Haath Ki Safai poster
7.5

After the tragic passing of his parents, Raj Kumar is also separated from his elder brother. He ends up hungry and penniless in Bombay, and is taken in by a pickpocket thief, Usmanbhai, who trains Raj to be a master at picking pockets and stealing. It is in this atmosphere that Raj grows up and calls himself Raju Tardeo, for this is the area allocated to him to carry on stealing. Raju comes to know that a wealthy woman named Kamini has run away from home, and a reward has been placed in all newspapers. He finds her, pretends to fall in love with her, steals her necklace, and takes her back home to her oppressive uncle, who wants her to get married to Ranjeet.

Haath Ki Safai

1974

Aakhri Daao poster
10.0

Ravi, a former safe-cracker, turns over a new leaf, taking a job managing a timber buisness and falling in love with Reena, the owner's daughter. His past catches up with him when his old partner, Robert, and Robert's girlfriend, Julie, demand his help with a recently robbed safe, refusing to take no for an answer.

Aakhri Daao

1975