A proud moment for Indians as Javed Akhtar awarded with the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award 2020

After Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, the Sahitya Akademi Award and five National film awards, Javed Akhtar got another huge victory as he won the Richard Dawkins Award.

Poet, thinker, lyricist, screenplay and dialogue writer Javed Akhtar becomes the first Indian to win the award. Richard Dawkins Award is presented to those who have done outstanding work and extended their support for secularism, rationalism and science and is named after the world-renowned biologist. Javed Akhtar has won the Richard Dawkins Award for his critical thinking, advancing human progress, holding religious dogma up to scrutiny and humanist values. While previously Bill Maher and Christopher Hitchens were awarded with the title.

Javed Akhtar has always been in the news for fiercely independent, strong and well-grounded views on art and culture, society and religious matters. Akhtar veteran screenwriter who has written the screenplay for iconic movies like Zanjeer, Deewaar and Sholay said, "I am deeply honored. He admits that he has been a prodigious devotee of Richard Dawkins ever since he has gone through his first book 'The Selfish Gene'.

Hathi Mere Sathi was the first movie when Akhtar worked as a screenplay writer. He has also been awarded with Padma Shri in the year 1999 and Padma Bhushan in the year 2007.

As the news went on air, a lot of celebrities and people came up to congratulate him including his family members. To begin with Overjoyed Shabana Azmi shared the news of husband's victory and said, "It is a huge honour”. Other Bollywood personalities like Anil Kapoor and Dia Mirza congratulated the writer for this huge recognition on social media.