Javed Akhtar moved to Bombay, now Mumbai, in 1964 and spent the next six years struggling to establish himself in the Hindi film industry.In a recent conversation with Let’s Talk with Devna G, the veteran writer recalled surviving on occasional ghostwriting assignments and sometimes going without food for days. Despite the hardships, he said he never considered giving up or having a Plan B because he was confident that he would eventually succeed.
Javed Akhtar wanted to work with Raj Kapoor or Guru Dutt
Javed Akhtar revealed that his decision to enter the film industry was made while he was still in college. After completing his studies, he planned to move to Bombay and hoped to work as an assistant to either Raj Kapoor or Guru Dutt.“I was very clear that after graduation, I would go to Bombay and assist a big director. I had a very short list of choices: Raj Kapoor or Guru Dutt,” he said.However, neither plan worked out.“Guru Dutt died perhaps six or seven days after I reached Bombay. And I saw RK Studio almost five years after coming to Bombay. Forget working with Raj Kapoor, I didn’t even see RK Studio for five years,” he recalled.Javed Akhtar arrived in Bombay in 1964 at the age of 19, with dreams of becoming a filmmaker. He has previously recalled that he came to the city with just 27 naye paise in his pocket.‘Sometimes I had food, sometimes I didn’t’With no major break coming his way, Javed took up whatever writing work he could find, including ghostwriting for films.“I would sometimes get ghostwriting work, maybe 10 scenes for a comedian in a film. They would call me and pay me Rs 100 per scene. If there were 10 scenes, I would get Rs 1,000. That is how I somehow managed to survive. And thanks to my friends, who took care of me,” he said.Javed said his real break came only in January 1970.“Those six years were on and off. Sometimes I had shelter, sometimes I didn’t. Sometimes I could get food, sometimes I could not. But there was no Plan B,” he said.There were times when Javed did not even know how he would manage his next meal.“Sometimes, when I woke up, I had no idea where I would get lunch or dinner from, or whether I would get anything at all. Quite often, I didn’t,” he said.
Javed Akhtar says he never considered giving up
Despite facing severe hardships, Javed Akhtar said he never considered giving up on life.“Quite often, I find it amusing that the thought of suicide never crossed my mind. I may have rejected it, but the thought itself never occurred to me. Never,” he said.“There was no home I could go back to. I had been thrown out of the house,” he recalled.Akhtar also remembered knowing about a dargah in Mahim where food was sometimes provided to people waiting outside. However, even after going without food for two or three days, he said he never considered going there himself.“I don’t know why that thought never occurred to me. It wasn’t that I rejected the idea. It simply never came to my mind,” he said.Now, when he passes the place, he sometimes thinks, “I could have sat here. I had gone hungry for three days.”Despite everything he went through, however, Javed said he never doubted that he would eventually succeed.
Javed Akhtar recalls having just 20 naye paise
Akhtar also recalled an incident that captured just how difficult those early years were.He once wrote around 10 scenes for a producer who promised to pay him Rs 1,000 the following day. When Javed reached the producer’s office in Dadar, however, he found it locked.At the time, he was living near Bandra-Khar and had just 20 naye paise left in his pocket.“With 20 naya paisa, I could either buy a bus ticket to Bandra and walk the rest of the way home, or I could eat something. I decided to eat,” he said.He bought chana and began walking from Dadar towards Bandra.As he passed Kohinoor Mill, a thought struck him.“I looked at Kohinoor Mill and thought the building may change. It may be redeveloped. Anything can happen. But I thought this mill would always be there. And one day, I would pass this road in my car and look at this place,” he said.Even at the time, he imagined that the incident would eventually find a place in his biography.“I had complete faith that this interesting incident would be mentioned,” he said, before laughing at his younger self.“That faith was stupidity. It was ignorance. It was not some great thing that I was farsighted about. It was stupidity that helped me. That stupidity saved me.”
Javed Akhtar eventually found success with Salim Khan
Akhtar eventually found success as one half of the iconic Salim-Javed writing duo.Along with Salim Khan, he co-wrote some of Hindi cinema’s most memorable films, including Zanjeer, Deewaar, Sholay, Don and Trishul.He later went on to build a successful career as a celebrated lyricist, screenwriter and poet.
