Javed Akhtar is Bollywood's number one lyricist today. Javed started off as a scriptwriter in the late 1960s. His partnership with Salim Khan (Salman Khan's father), proved to be phenomenally successful. Together they wrote the scripts for all-time blockbusters like Zanjeer (1973), Sholay (1975), Deewaar (1975) and Shakti (1982). Javed wrote his first song for Yash Chopra's Silsila in 1981.

Akhtar wrote the lyrics for 3 major films of the late 80s, in Saagar (1985), Mr India (1987), and Tezaab (1988). His finest hour came with R.D. Burman's 1942 A Love Story (1994). Javed is married to the actress Shabana Azmi. Javed's son from his first marriage is the up coming film director Farhan Akhtar, who achieved universal acclaim with his very first film Dil Chahta Hai (2002).