Javed Akhtar ‘My name has nothing to do with Islam’

Poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar took a jab at both "Hindu and Muslim hardliners" after his literary event in Kolkata was postponed amid opposition from Islamic groups.

“I get hate mail from both sides," he told The Telegraph Online. “I believe as long as both [Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists] are abusing me, I am doing something right. My name, Javed Akhtar, has nothing to do with Islam. Both the words are Persian. It is only in



India that names are associated with religion."

The West Bengal Urdu Academy recently cancelled its four-day annual festival to celebrate “Urdu in Hindi cinema” after some Islamic organisations opposed the invitation to Akhtar.  The poet was invited as the chief guest to preside over a key mushaira on September 1.

The Academy, in its official statement, cited only “unavoidable circumstances” as the reason.