Legendary poet, lyricist, scriptwriter, and social thinker Padma Bhushan Javed Akhtar will be presented the SOA Sahitya Samman for 2025 for his outstanding and lifelong contribution to Indian cinema and literature.
The award will be presented to the legend during the inaugural session of the two-day 3rd SOA Literary Festival to be held in the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Deemed to be University campus here on November 29.
The SOA Sahitya Samman has been instituted by the SOA Deemed to be University to honour and celebrate outstanding work of literature from across the country. The award seeks to recognise eminent writers, poets, and thinkers whose work exemplifies excellence, creativity, and intellectual depth.
Akhtar is a celebrated scriptwriter, lyricist, poet, and thinker whose words have defined the emotional and cultural landscape of modern India. A master lyricist, Akhtar’s creative genius has enriched Hindi cinema with depth and timeless resonance.
A recipient of five National Film Awards and 15 Filmfare Awards, Akhtar has also been honoured with the Padma Shri (1999), Padma Bhushan (2007), and the Sahitya Akademi Award (2014), among many others. His poetry collections ‘Tarkash’ and ‘Lava’ remain among the best-selling works of modern Hindi literature and have been translated into several Indian and foreign languages.
An eloquent voice of reason and progress, Akhtar has addressed leading universities worldwide, including Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge.
A creative visionary and one of the greatest wordsmiths of Indian cinema, his oeuvre bridges literature and life, art and conscience, continuing to inspire generations through fearless truth, poetic imagination, and profound humanism.
The award carries a cash prize of Rs 7 lakh, along with a citation, a silver idol of Goddess Saraswati, and a shawl. It is conferred annually on a distinguished Indian litterateur writing in any of the languages recognised by the Constitution of India.
The theme of this year’s two-day festival, to be held on November 29 and 30 and conducted by the SOA Centre for Preservation, Propagation, Restoration of Ancient Culture and Heritage of India (PPRACHIN), will be ‘Culture, Creativity and Artificial Intelligence’, Prof. Gayatribala Panda, Head, PPRACHIN and Director of the Festival, said.
“This year’s literary festival is expected to bring together 100 eminent writers, poets, artists, novelists, translators, publishers, thinkers, theatre and media personalities from across India,” Prof. Panda said, adding it will have 30 different sessions over the two days.