From Ek ladki ko Dekha to Aisa Laga to Sandese aate hai, Javed Akhtar playlists will always be saved in our hearts.
“Main bhool jaun ab yehi munaasib hai,Magar bhulana bhi chahoon toh kis tarah bhulaaon, Ki tum toh phir bhi haqeeqat ho, koi khwab nahi.” – Javed Akhtar
A poet, a lyricist, a screenwriter, and certainly a writer whose songs we all must have cherished without knowing the man behind them. Javed Sahab is one of the gems we have in the Urdu-Hindi industry, the one we all cherish by heart, by the soul. Well, this is the birthday month of Javed Sahab and the legend will turn 78 years old on the 17th of January. Well, we wonder how many honours and appreciation the country has in the name of Javed Akhtar.
He has received Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, the Sahitya Akademi Award as well as five National Film Awards too. But talking about what we love the most in his words is the element of relativity. If there is anything that can be complex and simple, beautiful and painful at the same time, then we will surely go back to some of the pieces by Javed Akhtar. Well, it would be a long list if we plan to write down all the best works of Akhtar, but here is our attempt to name a few.
1. Ek Ladki ko Dekha toh aisa laga
ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga
Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga
Jaise khilta gulaab, jaise shayar ka khwaab
Jaise ujali kiran, jaise ban mein hiran
Jaise chandni raat, jaise narmi baat
Jaise mandir mein ho ek jalta diya
Ho, ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga
It was “1942 Love Story” for which this song was written and we wonder if there can be any better imagery of the feeling that the protagonist got when he saw a woman and found his love interest in her.
2. Iktara
Jo barase sapane bund bund
naino ko mund mund
Kaise main chalu
dekh na saku
anjaan raaste
Gunja sa hai koyi iktaara iktaara
The song composed for the film “Wake up Sid” is perhaps the one suiting the modern style of music, Javed Sahab’s lyrics have made the song something that is an anthem for a soulful retreat.
3. Sandese Aate Hain
Sandese Aate Hain
Humein Tadpaate Hain
To Chitthi Aati Hain
To Poochh Jaati Hai
Ke Ghar Kab Aaoge
Ke Ghar Kab Aaoge
Likho Kab Aaoge
Ki Tum Bin Ye Ghar Soona Soona Hai
The film ‘Border’, the song is one of the patriotic collections of Javed Akhtar, one that makes us an idea of the plight and the struggles of the family of the jawans on the border. The basic essence of the song is to understand the emotion of what a letter could mean to a person who has their loved one on the border, fighting for the nation, for the life.
4. Luck By Chance, the dialogues and the lyrics
Well, the film was his daughter, Zoya Akhtar’s debut film, and was perhaps Akhtar helping the junior Akhtar, wrote the dialogues and the songs of the film. The song, ‘Sapno se bhare Naina is one of the finest when one needs to revisit the feeling of having dreams and the confidence to accomplish them.
5. Unchi Imaraton se makaan meraa ghir gya, kuchh log mere hisse ka suraj bhi kha gye
One of our personal favourites, this Shayari can tell what the world looks like now. People generally are unable to have the pleasure of the sun’s rays in a city all covered with tall buildings.
Well, there are many more works of the legend that are more than legendary but we probably won’t be able to cover them all in one article, or in fact, a thesis would be small to cover the diversity and versatility of Javed Sahab. On his birthday, we would like to send our best wishes and health to him.
