As the family kicks off three-day celebration to mark his 75th birthday, legendary writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar thrilled to have a photo exhibition dedicated to him
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; January 14, 2020)

Shabana Azmi, who was stationed in Budapest over the past few weeks for the shoot of Steven Spielberg's web series, has returned to the bay in time for husband Javed Akhtar's big day. The noted writer-lyricist turns 75 on Friday, and a string of celebrations is in order for the milestone birthday.

mid-day has learnt that an exhibition of Akhtar's rare photographs, posters and paintings, titled The World Of Javed Akhtar, and curated by Pradeep Chandra and SMM Ausaja, will be held at the Nehru Centre in Worli. While Farhan and Zoya Akhtar will inaugurate the exhibition dedicated to their father tomorrow, it will be open to the public from January 17 to 20. Considering Akhtar has changed the vocabulary of Bollywood with his stories and songs, it is only fitting that the inaugural event tomorrow will mark the launch of a limited edition of The Javed Akhtar Pen — a creation of Abhishek Haritwal and Symmetry. Besides unveiling the signature pen, the celebrated writer will take to the stage to discuss his journey in the industry and his role in changing the narrative of Hindi cinema, with Nasreen Munni Kabir.

"I am nervous, especially about the exhibition because they are calling it The World of Javed Akhtar. I want to see how many people are interested in my life," jokes the legendary lyricist, adding that he was pleasantly surprised to see that the curators had sourced rare photographs from his heydays. "Some of the photographs go back to my school days. I am wondering where they sourced them from."

While Azmi plans to ring in Akhtar's birthday with an intimate '70s Bollywood-themed bash on Thursday, Zoya and Farhan will host a grand soiree on Friday at a suburban five-star that will see the who's who of the industry in attendance. "We want to salute the man that is Javed Akhtar — his indomitable will, tenacity, wisdom, intellect, and of course, his legendary sense of humour! Friends and family are trooping in from different parts of the world for the bash," says an ecstatic Azmi.


The customised Javed Akhtar Pen