Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi and Abu Metha during “Creator’s Meet & interaction” at RCEMPA, Jotsoma on March 21. (Morung Photo)
Farhan Akhtar may attend Hornbill 2026
Chizokho Vero
Kohima | March 21
Nagaland is “so fertile for music,” noted lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar said on Saturday while launching a dedicated intellectual property (IP) hub in Kohima aimed at strengthening awareness of music rights in the Northeast.
Highlighting the State’s creative potential, Javed Akhtar, Chairman of the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS), called for stronger engagement between artists from the region and other parts of India.
The hub, established by IPRS with support from the Task Force for Music & Arts (TaFMA), will serve as a dedicated facility providing assistance for IPRS membership enrolment, work registration, metadata management, and information on music rights and royalties.
The launch preceded a Creators’ Meet and Interaction at the Regional Centre of Excellence for Music & Performing Arts (RCEMPA), Jotsoma, where Akhtar and his wife, actor Shabana Azmi, both Padma Bhushan awardees, engaged with music creators, writers, independent artists, educators, and influencers from Nagaland. The session was moderated by Abu Metha and organised by TaFMA in association with IPRS and the Investment & Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN).
Azmi reflects on first visit, shares career journey
On her first visit to Nagaland, veteran actor Azmi said, “I have been so excited to come here for so long, ever since Javed came to the Hornbill Festival a couple of years ago. He has been talking to me so much about this, and so I imposed myself on this.”
“We take a piece of Nagaland in our hearts when we go back. So thank you for your hospitality,” she added.
Asked whether actor-director Farhan Akhtar would accompany them to the Hornbill Festival this year, Azmi said that if he is not engaged in shooting at the time, he would be very excited to come ‘definitely.”
On Naga food, she remarked, “Chutney is very, very spicy. And it is delicious, absolutely delicious.”
Sharing her early days at the Film & Television Institute of India, Azmi said she graduated with a gold medal as the best actress and best student in acting, noting that during the early 1970s, FTII graduates were quickly absorbed into the film industry.
She recalled signing two films while still a student, beginning with Ankur, which later came to be recognised as part of parallel cinema and achieved commercial success, earning her the National Award for Best Actress. The film was also screened at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Reflecting on her journey, Azmi said her career progressed smoothly thereafter, attributing it to being “at the right place at the right time.” She added that early in her career, she worked with Shashi Kapoor in Fakira, which was a major success.
Azmi also spoke about her work with prominent actors including Shatrughan Sinha, Danny Denzongpa, Kader Khan, Sanjeev Kumar, Rajesh Khanna and Rishi Kapoor.
‘Music also doesn’t need passport and visa’
Meanwhile, recalling his visit to the Hornbill Festival about a decade ago, Akhtar described Nagaland as not only beautiful but also home to “decent and simple” people, adding that they are good people, which he termed the most important quality of any place.
He added that wherever people from Nagaland are employed across cities like Delhi and Mumbai, they are regarded as among the best workers—honest, hardworking, and sincere.
He also noted that stories from Nagaland and the Northeast are often underrepresented and misunderstood, stressing the need to bridge this gap through cinema, music, literature, and other forms of creative expression.
He further stressed that talent, innovation and creativity across cinema, music, literature, the arts and activism should be harnessed to bridge the distance between the mainland and the Northeast.
Emphasising collaboration, Akhtar remarked that “music also doesn’t need passport and visa,” and suggested stronger engagement between artists from Nagaland and other parts of the country, including collaborative sessions in Mumbai.
“Some singers, some writers, some composers should come to Mumbai and we will have one big ten-day or one-week session where we work together and create new songs,” he added.
Akhtar also shared his journey in the film Sholay, co-writing the screenplay with Salim Khan.
Earlier, the programme was chaired by TaFMA Chairman Theja Meru. IPRS CEO Rakesh Nigam and several dignitaries were also present at the interactive session.
