Javed Akhtar, Nasreen Munni Kabir and Shabana Azmi talk to Yasser Usman.

This is an in-person only event at the British Library.

Based on their new book, Talking Life, we bring together lyricist, poet and screenwriter, Javed Akhtar, and film expert Nasreen Munni Kabir for a conversation. They are joined by actress Shabana Azmi, talking to journalist Yasser Usman, to provide a fascinating and personal insight into Javed Akhtar’s extraordinary life.

In the book Javed speaks with refreshing honesty about the ups and downs of this life – his early childhood, being an aspiring writer, breaking into the film industry and finding huge success as a songwriter and poet. Expect an evening of revelations and reflections, full of stories and anecdotes.

Javed Akhtar is the co-writer of many leading Hindi films of the 1970s, including Zanjeer, Deewar and Sholay. He has won numerous awards for his screenplays and song lyrics. He has been awarded a number of National Awards including the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. Several volumes of his poetry have been published in Urdu translated into several languages, including English and French. An accomplished speaker, he has been invited to lecture at various universities and literature festivals across the world.

Shabana Azmi is a famed Indian actor and activist who has predominantly worked in Bollywood films, television and theatre. She is credited with changing the face of Indian celluloid through her diverse roles since her debut in 1974. The daughter of renowned Indian poet Kaifi Azmi and theatre actor Shaukat Azmi, is also the wife of Javed Akhtar. Shabana has also acted in a number of international movies as well.  Her latest, What’s Love Got To Do With It, teams her up with a number of British actors including Emma Thomas, Lily James and Shazad Latif. She holds an exclusive record of getting five National Awards under the nomination of Best Actress.

Nasreen Munni Kabir has made over a hundred documentaries on Hindi cinema and written over 20 books on the subject. She has subtitled over 800 films from Hindi to English, resulting in her being instrumental in introducing Hindi cinema to wider audiences in the UK. Working between London and Mumbai, she has documented and archived Hindi film history through her books and TV programmes for over forty years.

Yasser Usman is an award-winning Indian journalist, editor, and author of four bestselling film biographies. His recent book is the critically acclaimed bestseller Guru Dutt – An Unfinished Story. His words have appeared in several Indian and international publications. He is a columnist with Khaleej Times where he writes a weekly cinema column, Showbuzz. He has been a recipient of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award for excellence in journalism, Red Ink award, and News Television Award among many others. He lives in New Delhi and London.

In association with Tongues of Fire UK Asian Film Festival

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