Javed Akhtar reveals how assistant directors were treated when he was young: ‘Bring madam’s shoes, we did all this’

Javed Akhtar remembered that earlier assistant directors were disrespected and asked to fetch the clothes and even the shoes of actors.

Lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar has spoken about how assistant directors were treated in the Hindi film industry during the early stages of his career, and about their position in the industry now. He also talked about secularism, adding that it can't be taught through crash courses as it's a "way of life" that comes naturally. He was speaking at the inaugural day of the 19th Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) on Thursday.

Javed Akhtar opens up about how ADs were treated earlier

Javed Akhtar spoke at the 19th Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF).

Javed remembered that earlier assistant directors were disrespected and asked to fetch the clothes and even the shoes of actors. “Today, things in the film industry are much more streamlined than ever... I remember when I was an assistant director and first joined the film industry, the position of assistant director was so disrespected," he said as quoted by news agency PTI.

He added, “What was our job? Bring Madam’s shoes quickly. Where is the hero’s coat? Where is the jacket? We used to do all this. We used to say, ‘I am an assistant director.’ Today’s assistants, however, are on first-name terms with the stars. I get scared when I see them. The assistant director is calling the hero by his name, we could never have imagined that.”

Javed talks about secularism

Javed also talked about his childhood, how he, an atheist, was raised in a household of agnostics and atheists. He shared a personal anecdote about his grandmother, who didn't get an education but possessed sensibility. In his childhood, his grandfather tried to persuade him to memorise religious verses by offering 50 paise. However, his grandmother intervened, saying that no one had the right to impose religion on another.

"That was the end of my religious education. Yes, that time, I was not very happy with her because I lost the opportunity to earn 50 paise. But in retrospect, I think of her as a woman who could not even write her name, (but) she had this sensibility. I wish our leaders had one-tenth of this sensibility," he added.