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Javed Akhtar was born on January 17,
1945 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh to Jan Nisar Akhtar, a Bollywood film songwriter
and Urdu poet, and Safia Akhtar, a teacher and writer. His lineage can be traced
back to seven generations of writers. The highly respected Urdu poet Majaz was
his maternal uncle and the works of his grandfather, Muzter Khairabadi, are
looked upon as a milestone in Urdu poetry. Akhtar has one sibling; his younger
brother is renowned psychoanalyst Salman Akhtar. After his birth, his parents
moved to Lucknow, Punjab, and later to Aligarh. Young Javed Akhtar lost his
mother at a tender age and his father frequently moved back and forth between
Lucknow and Bombay, so he and his brother spent most of their time with
relatives. At the age of eight, he was admitted to the sixth class in a
well-known school of Lucknow, the Colvin Taluqdars' College. In his initial
years, a "fierce looking" tutor used to come to his home in evenings and tutor
him and his brother. This tutor was paid Rs. 15 every day. After completing his
matriculation, Akhtar entered and began attending Safiya College in Bhopal where
he earned a B.A.. He was a keen debater in college and won the Rotary Club Prize
frequently. He arrived in Bombay on October 4, 1964. In his early years living
in Bombay, he managed to write the dialogue for a minor film for Rs. 100.
Occasionally, he used to work as an assistant. Javed Akhtar is the father of the
film director Farhan Akhtar, the father and son duo work together with other
associates such as Salim Khan, the father of Salman, Arbaaz, and Sohail Khan.
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