Akhtar’s Classic Avatar

Poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar,who was last seen on television judging performers on Indian Idol 4,will return to the small screen on December 11 as a show host on Zee Classic. Akhtar is all set to pay a tribute to the Golden Era of the Hindi cinema (1940-1970) in a new show called Classic Legends,dubbed to be a guided biography of men and women who gave the industry some of its iconic movies and music. The channel has planned a 13-episode series,featuring legends like Raj Kapoor,R D Burman,Majrooh Sultanpuri,Kishore Kumar,Nargis,Bimal Roy,Vijay Anand,Ashok Kumar,Sahir Ludhiyanvi,Mehboob Khan,Madhubala,Guru Dutt and Shammi Kapoor. “Given the decades I have spent in this industry and the creative minds that I have had the fortune of meeting,it is only fitting that I pay a tribute to those personalities,” said Akhtar. Mohan Gopinath,Business Head at Zee Cinema,added,“While many dialogues and songs from films of the black-and-white era may be popular among the masses,not many know much about the people behind those iconic works. Classic Legends will introduce people to such creative geniuses.”