Javed Akhtar has spent much of his career questioning things people often take for granted. That instinct extends well beyond cinema and songwriting. Because they have been inherited, in a conversation with Express Hindi with Saurabh Dwivedi, the veteran writer and lyricist spoke at length about religion, faith and atheism, and why he remains skeptical of beliefs that are accepted simply.
By noting that 99 percent of people died in the religion they were born into, he questioned how often beliefs were independently formed rather than inherited from childhood. There are 10 major religions in the world. Because they came from someone people trusted, since people could change their opinions over time, he argued that ideas should be examined on their own merit and questioned rather than accepted simply.
Javed Akhtar acknowledged that religion can provide solace during difficult periods in life. However, he questioned whether the emotional comfort people draw from faith serves as actual proof that their religious beliefs are true. The writer considered this reliance to be an artificial foundation. He explained that individuals often cling to the idea of a higher power merely for the consolation it brings, giving them the comforting but false reassurance that someone is always there to watch over them. He illustrated the idea with an example involving Elon Musk . If someone genuinely convinced themselves that Musk was their brother and that a huge amount of money was on its way, the belief could still make them feel secure even if there was no reason to expect it. “Believe it from your heart that next month he is going to send me two, four, six billion dollars, and then keep saying next month, next month, and remain happy. How reassuring would it be if you thought that Elon Musk is my brother? You would be happy, right?” he added. He questioned whether faith was ever truly a conscious choice, pointing out that most people simply followed the religion they had grown up with. He also stressed the need to separate people from the ideas they put forward. “Our story is different. We don’t trust a person. We trust an idea. Or he may find a saint. And to say that they are all the same is nonsense. They are all different.”
We trust the idea, logic and reason,” he went onto say, adding “What happens with a person who is religious, or a person of faith, is that he trusts a person. Whatever his parents told him, he probably trusts his parents. That person may say something else tomorrow, it doesn’t make any difference to us.
Javed Akhtar is one of the most influential voices in Indian cinema and literature, with a career that has stretched across more than five decades. As a poet, lyricist and screenwriter, he has played a part in shaping some of Hindi cinema’s most memorable stories, characters and songs.
