Meet Javed Akhtar, the actor

"Before you can say 'Jack Nicholson', it's over."

That's how poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar describes his cameo in Madhur Bhandarkar's forthcoming film Corporate.

Akhtar plays himself in a small sequence of a "film award ceremony wherein the emcee calls me on stage and I make an appearance to receive an award.

"It is unfair to describe my appearance in the film as a role. I am there for 10 to 15 seconds," says Akhtar.

It took him about an hour to shoot the sequence as "the director took time to adjust the lighting."

Akhtar is all praise for Bhandarkar's film and is confident that Corporate "will strike the right chord with audience. For, it is quite attuned to contemporary taste."

The Bollywood veteran says because of his long association with the industry, the camera did not make him shy. "For a debutant actor, playing myself came naturally [smiles]."

After all, for this acclaimed lyricist, walking to the stage for an award has almost become a way of life.

Talking about a rapidly changing audience taste, the poet feels mushrooming multiplexes could be responsible for it. To him, change is always welcome as it "stands for dynamism. Change ushers in movement and the latter spells inevitable improvement."

Does this change affect his writing as well?

"Yes, of course," he asserts. "Anyone who is associated with the film industry has to abide by this transformation. One has to flow with the tide. As a lyricist, I have to feel the public pulse to cull the right words. If my creations are not in tune with the present world and its people, they are sure to be discarded.

"For me, success means recognition and nothing is more rewarding than a thankful smile on the lips of my audience."

The Bollywood bard has signed a host of interesting films which will hit theatres this year. They include Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Farhan Akhtar's Don and Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodha Akbar.