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. Several volumes of his poetry have been published in Urdu and in translation 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. He is also a leading cultural commentator whose wit and intellect have won him legions of fans.
Nasreen Munni Kabir has made over a hundred documentaries on Hindi cinema and written over twenty books on the subject. She has subtitled over 800 films from Hindi to English. She has been instrumental in introducing Hindi cinema to wider audiences in the UK and in Paris since the 1980s. Continuing to curate Channel 4’s annual Indian film season, Nasreen has served as a governor on the board of the British Film Institute (2000–2006). Working between London and Mumbai, she has documented and archived Hindi film history through her books and TV programmes for over forty years.