Mumbai, July 2 (IANS): Writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar is considered a legend for his contribution to Hindi cinema over the last four-five decades. However, he claimed that not only him, but his family has a rich tradition of producing great writers, with his children Farhan and Zoya being the eighth generation writers in the family.

"So, I am a seventh generation writer in my family while Farhan and Zoya are eighth generation writers. And Farhan's daughter has also started writing, making her a ninth generation writer in the family," he said at an event here.

Present at the launch of Debashish Irengbam's book "Me, Mia, Multiple" along with actor Arjun Kapoor, Akhtar said: "I've been fortunate to be born in a family where both my parents were writers. Even my uncles, my grandfathers and their fathers were writers."

"I was born in an atmosphere where there were books and talk of literature all around me," he added.

Akhtar also stressed on how the Progressive Writers' movement and various Russian literature influenced the writer in him.