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. Son of well-known Urdu poet and film lyricist Jan Nisar Akhtar and Safia Akhtar, teacher and writer, Javed Akhtar belongs to a family lineage that can be traced back to seven generations of writers. Akhtar is a celebrated script writer, lyricist, poet and thinker whose words have defined the emotional and cultural landscape of modern India. A master lyricist, his 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. Seven lakh along with a citation, a silver idol of Goddess Saraswati and a shawl.