Javed Akhtar is not a name that's familiar to most Canadians.

But in India, he's won a multitude of national awards as a Bollywood screenwriter, poet, and lyricist.

He's also married to one of his country's most respected actors, Shabana Azmi.

I recently stumbled across a short speech by Akhtar in which he describes what it takes to become a writer.

His first piece of advice? Become a reader.

Akhtar thinks words are like people. To find out why, you can watch the video below.