'Went Through Homelessness, Starvation...': Javed Akhtar Gets Emotional As He Reflects On His 61 Years In Mumbai

Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar first arrived in Mumbai on October 4, 1964, at the age of 19, with just 27 naya paisa in his pocket. On Saturday, reflecting on his 61 years in the city, he penned an emotional note expressing gratitude for how kind life has been to him.

Javed Akhtar Reflects On His 61 Years In Mumbai

Taking to his X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, "On 4th October 1964 a 19-year-old boy had disembarked at Bombay central station with 27 naya paisa in his pocket. Went through homelessness, starvation, unemployment but when I look at the grand total I feel life has been too kind to me."

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Born in 1945 in Gwalior, he added, "For that I can not but help but thank Mumbai, Maharashtra, my country and all those who looked at work kindly. Thank you, thank you so much."

Javed Akhtar On His Journey

Talking about his journey, Javed told Hindustan Times in 2006 that he slept wherever he could, sometimes on a verandah, sometimes in a corridor, and sometimes under a tree, alongside several other homeless, jobless people like him. "At last, in November 1969, I got some work which in film parlance is called a break," he added.

Javed Akhtar Personal Life

Javed tied the knot with Honey Irani in 1972, and the couple had two children, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar. Their 11-year marriage ended in divorce in 1984.

Javed blamed alcoholism for his failed marriage to Honey. He said that all the culture he learned in Lucknow did not allow him to use foul language, which caused all the bitterness to be compressed inside him.

He told Mojo Story that he started drinking at the age of 20–21 and stopped drinking when he was 42 years old. Javed said that he could afford a bottle and would drink a bottle almost every night.

Later that year, on December 9, 1984, Javed married actress Shabana Azmi.