Mumbai, Oct. 4 -- Javed Akhtar turns 81 on Sunday, but his journey to becoming one of Hindi cinema's most respected writers began with little more than 27 naye paise and a dream.

On his birthday, his wife and veteran actor Shabana Azmi looked back at the difficult early years of his life, when he had no home, little food and no certainty about what lay ahead.

The 'Ankur' actor shared a picture of a young Javed Akhtar on Instagram and recalled how he arrived in Bombay on October 4, 1964. Javed was 19 years old when he came to the city with just 27 naye paise but was determined to build a life around his dreams.

"4th Oct 1964. A young lad arrived at Bombay Central Station with 27 naye paise in his pocket but with big dreams in his eyes. ...