Mumbai, Dec 19

Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar is happy that his father, veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar has been chosen to receive the coveted Sahitya Akademi award for his Urdu poetry. He says it is a proud moment for the entire family.

Javed, who has scripted many successful films like "Zanjeer, "Sholay" and "Deewar", among others, has been chosen for his book "Lava", a compilation of 55 Urdu poems.

"Our entire family is very happy. We are very proud of him and we always have been," Farhan told reporters here Wednesday at the red carpet of Big Star Entertainment Awards.

"This Sahitya Akademi award that he has got is very well deserved and I would like to congratulate all the recipients of the awards in various fields," he added.

Besides Javed, Hindi poet Mridula Garg and Bengali poet Subodh Sarkar have also been selected for this year's Sahitya Akademi award.

This literary honour is conferred upon writers for their outstanding work in the field of literature.

The award ceremony is scheduled to take place March 11, next year during the annual Akademi's Festival of Letters organised by the Sahitya Akademi in New Delhi.