Jashn-e-Rekhta

Experience the Dubai Grand Mushaira 2024 from Jashn-e-Rekhta, featuring Javed Akhtar, Zehra Nigah, Tehzeeb Hafi, Shakeel Azmi, Abbas Tabish, Farhat Ehsas, Anwar Shaoor, Khalid Irfan, Asim Wasti, Manish Shukla and more. Presided over by the legendary Zehra Nigah and hosted by Ambreen Haseeb Amber, this special mehfil brings together some of the most celebrated voices of Urdu poetry. From ghazals on...

Javed Akhtar and Pervaiz Alam come together at Jashn-e-Rekhta for a sharp, necessary conversation on the Urdu script debate, Rasm-ul-Khat, and the relationship between Hindi and Urdu. Javed Akhtar begins with a clear argument. There is no problem with the Urdu script. The real confusion lies in mixing up script with language. Through examples from Punjabi, English, French and German, he explains h...

In this rare and intimate episode of Rekhta Rubaru , legendary Urdu poet Munawwar Rana sits down with Moid Rasheedi for a deeply personal conversation about identity, Partition, poetry, rebellion and the memories that shaped his voice. Rana reflects on being Munawwar Ali before fame, his childhood as the son of a truck driver, and his father’s decision to stay in India after 1947 to protect the 50...

Experience the magic of a grand live Mushaira from Shaam-e-Rekhta Mumbai, hosted by the Rekhta Foundation. Two of the greatest living legends of Urdu poetry, Javed Akhtar and Waseem Barelvi, come together on one stage for an unforgettable evening of ghazal, shayari and powerful poetic expression. Javed Akhtar delivers deeply moving verses on integrity, self-respect, relationships and the many cont...

In this deeply moving episode of Rekhta Rubaru , host Rehman Faris sits down with legendary poet Abbas Tabish , celebrated as one of the most powerful voices of the modern Urdu ghazal. From childhood memories and poverty to the emotional force of a mother’s love, Tabish reflects on the fears, wounds, and turning points that shaped both his life and poetry. He shares the story behind one of his mos...

A book of Jaun Elia's poems no one had read — until now. Javed Akhtar launches Kyun and opens up the poet's hidden world. On Jaun Elia's birth anniversary, Jashn-e-Rekhta hosts the launch of Kyun , a collection of the legendary Urdu poet's previously unpublished work, compiled by Khalid Akhtar Ansari and Adeel Zaidi and released by Javed Akhtar. In conversation with Moin Shadab, Ja...

One historian. Seven centuries of India. One unforgettable conversation. In this episode of Rekhta Rubaru, legendary historian Professor Irfan Habib joins Moid Rasheedi for a sweeping conversation on the making of India’s cultural, political and linguistic history. From the memories of Partition and the Lahore Resolution to the atmosphere in Aligarh during a turning point in India’s history, Habib...

Recorded live at Jashn-e-Rekhta Dubai , this special conversation brings together Mahira Khan and Samina Peerzada with host Adeel Hashmi for a thoughtful, warm, and revealing session on acting, storytelling, and the journey from script to screen. Titled “Kahaani Se Kirdaar Tak” , the discussion explores how actors shape written characters into unforgettable performances. Mahira Khan reflects on he...

Sharman Joshi joins Rekhta Guftugu for a warm, honest conversation on theatre, cinema, family, craft, and the long journey of becoming an actor. Born into a family deeply connected with Gujarati theatre, Sharman looks back at the influence of his father Arvind Joshi, his uncle Praveen Joshi, and the world of modern Indian theatre that shaped his early years. He shares stories from college, his fir...

Taapsee Pannu opens up in a warm, honest and deeply personal conversation on Rekhta Guftugu. From growing up in a middle-class Delhi household to studying engineering, modelling during college, entering South cinema, and eventually becoming one of the most distinct voices in Hindi films, Taapsee traces the journey that shaped her both as an actor and as a person. She speaks about her mother’s infl...

Ali Fazal comes to Jashn-e-Rekhta for a warm, candid, and deeply reflective conversation on cinema, Urdu, poetry, ambition, and the stories that shaped him. Opening with a nazm, Ali moves from the grace of Lucknow’s tehzeeb to his childhood memories of films, books, and language. He speaks about being born in Delhi and raised in Lucknow, the influence of his mother, his early connection with theat...

A grand mushaira from Jashn-e-Rekhta Dubai, bringing some of Urdu poetry’s most loved voices together on one stage. This Sunday Special captures the best moments from Dubai Mushaira 2025, where Javed Akhtar, Zehra Nigah, Waseem Barelvi, Abbas Tabish, Khushbir Singh Shaad, Sarosh Asif and Shakeel Jazib fill the evening with nazm, ghazal, wit, silence, applause and that rare mehfil energy only a liv...

Piyush Mishra brings his full self to this live Jashn-e-Rekhta session, sharp humour, raw memories, music, poetry, and the kind of honesty that refuses to sound rehearsed. In this conversation, he opens up about love, heartbreak, and why today’s fast-moving Gen Z relationships often miss the patience and depth of old-school romance. He speaks about acting as imagination, not just technique, and sh...

Javed Akhtar joins Saif Mahmood for a thoughtful and deeply relevant conversation on Urdu, secularism, language politics, and the cultural history of India. In this live session, they unpack how Hindi and Urdu grew from the same soil, sharing the same streets, emotions, and literary traditions long before politics tried to divide them. Javed Akhtar speaks candidly about why languages should never...

Saadat Hasan Manto was not a writer who allowed anyone to stay comfortable. In this powerful conversation from Jashn-e-Rekhta, filmmaker Nandita Das and actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui join RJ Sayema to speak about bringing Manto’s life, mind and contradictions to the screen. Nawazuddin reflects on playing Manto and the strange after-effect of carrying his honesty into real life. Nandita Das explains wh...

What happens when two of South Asia’s most loved actors speak about Urdu, not as a language of nostalgia, but as a living part of performance, memory, and identity? In this rare conversation from Jashn-e-Rekhta Dubai , Saba Qamar and Imran Abbas join Adeel Hashmi for a deeply honest discussion on Urdu, cinema, acting, and the changing sound of storytelling. They speak about the sanctity of words,...

Some nights are not just heard. They are felt. In this Grand Mushaira from the Jashn-e-Rekhta stage, some of India’s most loved poets come together for an unforgettable evening of Urdu poetry, emotion, wit, reflection, and live mehfil energy. From the first sher to the final applause, the atmosphere carries the warmth of a packed audience listening, reacting, smiling, and sometimes falling complet...

What happens when a new generation of Urdu poets takes the stage and turns heartbreak, anxiety, love, loneliness, and identity into unforgettable shayari? In this powerful live mushaira from Jashn-e-Rekhta , host Jani Lakhnavi brings together some of the most exciting young voices in contemporary Urdu poetry. Featuring Sarmad Khan, Kashif Syed, Saqib Amraz, Sharjeel Ansari, Qamar Abbas Qamar, Saif...

In this live talk at Jashn-e-Rekhta, Swami Oma The Akk speaks of Urdu not as a language alone, but as a maashooq . Something intimate, fragrant, elusive, and deeply felt. Through the poetry of Meer, Ghalib, and Iqbal , he opens three ways of seeing life. Meer becomes the voice of loss, surrender, memory, and the pain that softens the soul. Iqbal stands for courage, becoming, and the pull of the fu...

What if Urdu is not just a language, but an entire way of seeing the world? In this live conversation, Dr. Arfa Sayeda Zehra reveals why Urdu carries far more than words. It carries adaab , memory, poetry, emotion, and a complete civilizational ethos. Joined by Saif Mahmood and Moin Mir at Jashn-e-Rekhta, she speaks about why Urdu belongs to everyone, not to one religion, one nation, or one class....

In this episode at Jashn-e-Rekhta, we explore the timeless poetry and lasting legacy of Meer Taqi Meer, the poet many revere as Khuda-e-Sukhan . Through an engaging conversation featuring Farhat Ehsas, Shafey Kidwai, and Sarfaraz Khalid, this session looks at how Meer shaped the emotional language of Urdu poetry and gave the ghazal a voice that still feels alive today. The episode reflects on Meer...

Can you really tell the difference between great poetry and bad poetry? In this fascinating live session from Jashn-e-Rekhta , Dr. Salman Akhtar shares 4 signs of bad poetry and explains why some verses may sound poetic, but still fail to leave a mark. With humour, honesty, and deep literary insight, he speaks about shallow expression, damaged language, weak thought, and the loss of rhythm in mode...

In this episode of Rekhta Guftgu , actor Ali Fazal opens up like never before. From being born in Delhi and growing up in Lucknow, to discovering theatre at school, chasing independence in college, and finding his way through films like 3 Idiots, Fukrey, Victoria & Abdul , and Mirzapur , this is a conversation full of honesty, memory, craft, and culture. Ali speaks about childhood, literature,...

In this episode of Rekhta Guftgu , Syed Mohammad Irfan sits down with Jaideep Ahlawat for an honest, deeply reflective conversation on rejection, patience, and the long road to recognition. Jaideep looks back on his childhood in Kharkada near Rohtak, growing up in a family of teachers, dreaming first of the Indian Army, and facing repeated setbacks after clearing written exams but failing the SSB....

In this episode of Rekhta Guftgu , filmmaker Imtiaz Ali opens up about the failures, doubts, and turning points that shaped his journey long before Bollywood success found him. In a deeply honest conversation with Irfan, he reflects on failing ninth grade, discovering theatre at Hindu College, finding creative grounding with Act One, and arriving in Mumbai without a fixed plan. He talks about lear...