It was time for some quality time with the family on the sets of Indian Idol. Not only did the contestants get a chance to meet their loved ones, but Javed Akhtar also got ‘lucky by chance’.
His children, Farhan and Zoya, joined him on the judges’ table for the galas where they enjoyed and critiqued the performances, and also spoke about their upcoming film, Luck By Chance And we didn’t miss our chance of getting a one-on-one with talented duo. Excerpts.
Can we call you a fan of Indian idol?
Zoya: I …

New Delhi (IANS): Writer-poet Javed Akhtar, who usually shies away from breaking into dance and song, will now be seen doing the bhangra on the small screen to celebrate son Farhan’s birthday on Friday.
Javed paid a surprise visit on Farhan’s show ‘Oye! It’s Friday!’ and spoke about his son’s growing days. He even shared some secrets about Farhan before the father-son duo broke into a ‘bhangra’ jig.
The special episode, to be aired on NDTV Imagine on Friday, will also have actress Deepika Padukone as a guest.
Source: Hindu.com

For two days now, the city of Mumbai has been subject to a kind of violence more real and shocking than anything that its film industry could ever show onscreen. No wonder that Bollywood is still trying to come to terms with the terror in its backyard.
Lyricist Javed Akhtar insists the only way to defeat terrorists is to defeat terror. Indians, he says, must unite in the face of adversity rather than play into the hands of those who want the country to fracture along communal lines.
“It’s not the time …

In the Ice Candy Man, written in the backdrop of 1947’s Partition, Bapsi Sidhwa wrote: “And the gramophones and speakers mounted on tongas and lorries scratchily, endlessly pouring out the melody of Noor Jehan’s popular film song that is now so strangely apt,” Mere bachpan ke sathi mujhe bhool na jana, dekho, dekho hanse na zamana, hanse na zamana. When director Deepa Mehta made the novel into the movie Earth, she chose the same voice from the same 1946 hit Anmol ghari, but a different song: Jawan hai mohabbat, haseen …

Forget the behind-the-scenes drama, the Zee Cine Awards in Dubai last weekend truly rocked. More than anything else, it made a genuine effort to cement the Indo-Pak relations further, which have been on an upswing in the recent times. Simply put, Bollywood and Lollywood were akin to the ambassadors of peace that night.
Hosting a majestic show not in India, not in Pakistan, but in a third country (Dubai, U.A.E.) and assembling the biggies of Bollywood (Big B, Dharmendra, SRK, the Roshans, Preity Zinta, Urmila, Sushmita Sen, Saif Ali Khan, Randhir …

Producer: Vinesh Gandhi
Director, Story, Scripy: Honey Irani
Music: Shankar Ehsan Loy
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Starring: Amitabh Bachan, Anil Kapoor, Pretty Zinta, Gracey Singh, Anupam Kher & Randheer Kapoor

Anil Kapoor and Amitabh Bachan have never worked together in a movie before though it has been tried several times but never accomplished because of whatsoever reasons. The writer turn director Honey Irani (director) has very strong terms and relations with these two mega stars and both of them trust Honey Irani so much that they agreed to work in this movie without reading the script!
Honey …

Zubeidaa’s all-star cast for both screen and soundtrack brings together some of the biggest names in modern day Indian entertainment.

THIS is the tragic story of a princess (Karisma Kapoor in the title role), narrated through the eyes of Riyaz, the son who never knew her.
Directed by 66 year old Shyam Benegal and set in the backdrop of the formation of the republic of India, Zubeidaa is the daughter of Suleman Seth (Amrish Puri), who secretly takes part in the shooting of a film. Her father is horrified and hastily arranges …

Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee
Music: Jatin-Lalit, Aadesh Shrivasatava
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Producer: Dreamz Unlimited
Director: Aziz Mirza

Shahrukh Khan is back and this time in a BIG way, starring in ‘Chalte Chalte’. The movie ‘Chalte Chalte’ is like a breeze of fresh air in the almost scorched Bollywood industry. It has weak story but with strong technicalities, direction and superb performances it turns out to be a big not-to-be-missed movie. It has all the qualities to stand at a big place among the major flicks of the year.
Now what is the story all about? …

Although Farhan Akhtar had scripted his debut film DIL CHAHTA HAI, his next film – LAKSHYA – won’t be scripted by the talented director, but by his father, writer Javed Akhtar. The reason? “That’s because the idea is dad’s,” Zoya Akhtar, Farhan’s sister, reveals, “When dad bounced off the idea of LAKSHYA to Farhan, he liked it immensely and that’s how dad decided to pen the script.”
Meanwhile, LAKSHYA is all set to roll in April with non-stop shooting. The final cast is Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Sushant Singh …