Javed Akhtar turns 72, Shabana praises his ‘magical persona’

By Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, Jan 17 (IANS) On poet-writer-activist Javed Akhtar's 72nd birthday on Tuesday, his wife Shabana Azmi, who lovingly calls him 'Jadu', said he has magic in his persona.

Exhausted after a musical evening that she had organised on her father and legendary poet Kaifi Azmi's birth anniversary on Saturday, Shabana wanted a quiet family get-together on Javed's birthday.

But the couple's friends won't let them be.

What was planned as a quiet evening turned into a sprawling evening with the promise of outstanding home made food, poetry recital and lots of conversation.

Said the actress: "When it comes to Jadu (Javed), nothing is decided till the last minute... So, till last night nothing was happening, but he has magic not only in his name, but also in his persona... Friends say, 'Yaay! Yoohoo! We want to be there for him.'"

Javed, who has penned songs for films like "Silsila", "1942: A Love Story", "Veer-Zaara", "Main Hoon Na" and "Jodhaa Akbar", has been in the industry for more than four decades and has a lot of fans.

Celebrities like Anil Kapoor, Farah Khan and Shekhar Ravijiani expressed their fondness for the "charming" Padma Bhushan awardee, via social media platforms.

While Anil wished Akhtar saying he is a "man whose words can start a revolution", actor Suniel Shetty hailed him as the "finest wordsmith".

Rakesh Roshan, Farah Khan, Shekhar Ravjiani, Divya Dutta, Shankar Mahadevan, Shraddha Kapoor, Ehsaan Noorani and Kailash Kher were among the others who wished the veteran writer.