GARAM GOSSIPS

Javed Akhtar recalls living on streets of Mumbai! Tue March 19th, 2024

Today, Javed Akhtar, a seasoned screenwriter, lyricist, and poet with a rich professional history, is considered a gem of the Indian cinema industry. Among the many honours bestowed upon him are many National Awards, a Padma Shri, and a Padma Bhushan. However, we are unaware that he spent days without food and slept on the streets when he first arrived in Mumbai as a teenager. During an interview, Akhtar reminisced about his early years and his difficult upbringing.

In a recent interview with a media outlet, Javed Akhtar was taken back in time to the period when, at the age of 19, he was sleeping on a board on the streets of Mumbai due to an unsatisfactory relationship with his father. Remembering those days, he told, “I remember that and I feel very thankful for life. Instead of getting sad about it or feeling victimized or persecuted, I feel very thankful for life.”

The Dunki lyricist went on to say that he feels like he's in a drama these days when he gets breakfast in his opulent Mumbai home with an ocean view. “I feel so thankful to life. I have so much food. I sit on my dining table many times and feel if I could get only one dish that night when I was so hungry, how much I would have enjoyed it. On one hand, I do remember those tough days but on the other hand, I feel extremely thankful because there must be crores of people who suffered the way I have but they were not rewarded,” he revealed.

Noting the times he went without food, the 79-year-old Grammy-winning lyricist stated, “There are 2-3 incidents that have traumatized me very badly, and that trauma has stayed with me.” Sharing more about it, he said, “Like being hungry for 2-3 days. On the third day, there is no difference between a human being and a dog. Your all sense of dignity, and self-respect, everything becomes so vague and out of focus. The only thing you know is that you’re hungry.”

GARAM GOSSIPS

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