Overview
- Shabana Azmi celebrated Akhtar’s birthday with an Instagram post and told ANI she wishes him strong health and continued creative energy.
- The Salim–Javed partnership delivered 24 films between 1971 and 1987, redefining the era with titles like Zanjeer, Deewaar, Sholay, Don and Mr. India, before parting ways around 1982 as reports cite fatigue and disagreements.
- After the split, Akhtar sustained a prominent solo career with screenplays and lyrics for films such as Betaab, Saagar and Lakshya, and he penned Pluto’s much‑noted lines in Dil Dhadakne Do.
- He is a five‑time National Film Award winner and a recipient of the Padma Shri (1999) and Padma Bhushan (2007), with public roles that included a Rajya Sabha nomination and work on copyright reforms.
- Retrospectives highlight his widely quoted dialogues across decades and recall early hardships he recounted in the documentary Angry Young Men, including sleeping in stations and going hungry.