Javed Akhtar in a file photo
New Delhi:
Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar, who always speaks his mind and shares his views on X, has reacted to a troll who called him a “traitor’s son”. “I am a proud Indian citizen and I will remain so till my last breath but I have one thing in common with Joe Biden. We both have equal chances of becoming the next President of the United States,” Javed Akhtar wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). A troll, who tried to shame him, wrote on his post, “Your father played a key role in creating Pakistan to make a nation for Muslims, then under the guise of a progressive writer he chose to live in India. You are the son of a traitor who divided our country on the basis of religion. Now you can say anything but this is the truth.”
Replying to the troll, Javed Akhtar reminded him of his family’s rich heritage and how they were involved in the country’s freedom movement. Javed Akhtar wrote in his response, “It is difficult to decide whether you are completely ignorant or completely stupid. My family has been involved in the freedom movement since 1857 and has been to jail and kaala pani, when probably your forefathers were licking the boots of the British government.” Check out the post here:
I am a proud Indian citizen and I will remain so till my last breath, but I have one thing in common with Joe Biden. We both have equal chances to become the next President of the United States.
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) July 6, 2024
Javed Akhtar’s father Jan Nisar Akhtar was not only a famous lyricist and poet, but also an influential member of the Progressive Writers Movement in pre-Partition British India. His mother Safia Siraj-ul Haq was also a writer.
In a recent conversation with Arbaaz Khan, Shabana Azmi credited her husband’s “incredible” willpower when he decided to quit drinking too much. Shabana Azmi said on the show, “He knew if I continued like this, I wouldn’t be able to live much longer and I wouldn’t be able to do my work creatively… We were in a flat in London. He was stinking of alcohol and I said ‘Oh my god, this is going to be one of those trips’. Very gently he told me ‘make breakfast for me’. He had breakfast and after that he told me, ‘I am not going to drink anymore.'”
Shabana Azmi further said, “I didn’t say anything. I just said ‘what do you mean?’ He said ‘I won’t drink alcohol anymore’. He had never said that before and since that day he hasn’t touched alcohol.”
Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani are the parents of Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar. Javed Akhtar is known for writing the screenplay of films like Deewar, Sholay, Trishul, Don along with Salim Khan.
