This star, who once slept at railway stations, was deprived of food and clothes, later became bigger than Amitabh Bachchan.
The luxurious life that we see stars enjoying was not always like this. There was a time when stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and others didn't have a house and struggled to even sleep. One such star, who now lives in a lavish bungalow, once slept on railway stations and in parks.
The star we are talking about was once deprived of food and sleep, however, in spite of giving up, he became a superstar in Bollywood. He made several actors stars with his work. He is none other than Javed Akhtar.
Javed Akhtar completed his education at Safia College in Bhopal, and came to Bombay with dreams of working as an assistant director for filmmakers like Guru Dutt or Raj Kapoor, whom he admired deeply. He ran away from home at the age of 15 to fulfill his dreams.
In the documentary Angry Young Men, Javed Akhtar revealed that after spending just five days in his father’s house, he decided to strike out on his own. He spent many nights sleeping at railway stations, parks, studio compounds, and on benches. The struggle to survive was intense, and once he was left with nothing to wear. He said, “My last trouser and the only trouser was torn to the extent that it couldn’t be worn anymore. And I had no other trousers."
To this, his wife Shabana Azmi added that there was a time when he hadn't eaten for 3 days and said, "It was raining heavily, and from an apartment in a nearby building, he saw a faint light shining. He saw that light and said to himself: ‘I wasn’t born to die like this. This time shall pass.’”
Javed Akhtar further added that the deprivation left a mark on him and said, "f you have been deprived of food or sleep in your life, it leaves a deep mark on you that you’ll never forget." He said it's sometimes hard to believe for him that he now leads a luxurious life.
Javed Akhtar came to recognition in the duo Salim–Javed and earned his breakthrough as a screenwriter with 1973's Zanjeer. He went on to write the films Deewaar and Sholay, Mr India, Kranti, and more which earned a cult following. By the late 70s, Salim-Javed were among the biggest names in Hindi cinema, having delivered blockbusters like Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Zanjeer, Deewar, and Sholay.
According to their documentary Angry Young Men, Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan began to demand Rs 1 lakh more than the hero as their fees. Salim Khan-Javed Akhtar were reportedly paid Rs 21 lakh per film while Amitabh Bachchan, India’s highest-paid actor earned Rs 20 lakh. Others like Rajesh Khanna (Rs 12 lakh), Shatrughan Sinha (Rs 10 lakh), and Rishi Kapoor (Rs 10 lakh) earned even less. They became the biggest stars in the country. However, in the early 80s, Salim-Javed split.
Even now, Javed Akhtar continues to impress the audience with his lyrics and is India's highest-paid lyricist. He reportedly charged Rs 25 lakh to write the song Nikle The Kabhi Hum Ghar Se from Rajkumar Hirani’s Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Dunki.
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