In the glitzy and glamorous lives of celebrities its usually their picture-perfect life that comes to the limelight. However what happens behind the surface is a lot more than what meets the eye. One such similar story was peeled of by Javed Akhtar. Speaking about how assistant directors were treated in his initial days the veteran lyricist-writer shared challenges they faced his thoughts on secularism and his early days in cinema
A childhood incident that changed everything
Recalling how his grandfather once tried to encourage him to memorise religious verses by offering him 50 paise. However it was his grandmother who stopped it. Javed Akhtar said “That was the end of my religious education. Yes that time I was not very happy with her because I lost the opportunity to earn 50 paise. But in retrospect I think of her as a woman who could not even write her name but she had this sensibility. I wish our leaders had one-tenth of this sensibility.”
‘No one has the right to impose religion’
Speaking about growing in a household of agnostics and atheists he shared how his grandmother strongly believed that faith is a personal choice. He shared that his grandmother believed that no one had “the right to impose religion on another.” ⸻
Secularism is a way of living not a lecture
During his session titled Javed Akhtar: Points of View he explained that secularism cannot be taught through speeches or textbooks. He said “Secularism should be a way of life because everyone around you is living like this and then it comes to you automatically. If one day you are given a lecture and you remember points A B and C after listening to it that is fake that is artificial. It can hardly last. But if it is your way of life – the way you have seen your elders the people you respect and admire living – then it comes within you.”
‘Bring Madam’s shoes quickly’: Life of an assistant director
Opening up about his early days in Bollywood Javed Akhtar spoke about how the assistant directors were treated back in time. He said “What was our job? Bring Madam’s shoes quickly. Where is the hero’s coat? Where is the jacket? We used to do all this. We used to say ‘I am an assistant director.’” He further said “I remember when I was an assistant director and first joined the film industry the position of assistant director was so disrespected.”
How times have changed in Bollywood
Comparing how things have evolved now he said “Today’s assistants however are on first-name terms with the stars. I get scared when I see them. The assistant director is calling the hero by his name. We could never have imagined this.