Javed Akhtar bestowed with Shalaka Samman, highest honour of Hindi Sahitya Academy

Hindi Academy Delhi has given its highest Shalaka Samman for 2017-18 to lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar. The award was given to him at a function in New Delhi which was chaired by Academy vice chairman Vishnu Khare and inaugurated by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. The award includes a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh. [caption id=“attachment_4875501” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Javed Akhtar has previously won three National Awards in an unprecedented row. www.javedakhtar.com[/caption] Awards were also given for notable contribution in the fields of literature, social service, culture and journalism. The scriptwriter, lyricist and poet has five National Awards for Best Lyricist to his name for works such as Border, Refugee and Lagaan. Notably, he has received three of these in an unprecedented row. He has also won sixteen Filmfare awards for Best Lyrics, Best Script and Best Dialogue for his work. Akhtar who hails from a family of Urdu poets has also scripted Amitabh Bachchan’s super hit films like Deewar, Trishul and Sholay under the Salim-Javed writer duo. The lyricist has also been honoured with the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007. He is also a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for his collection of poems entitled Lava. His works in Urdu poetry are known for reflecting his political awareness and his views on literary concerns. In 2010, Akhtar was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha as Member of Parliament.