Acclaimed writer Javed Akhtar says there is no fixed formula to write superhit films. However, he admits he can clearly tell the ways to write a movie that will bomb at the box office.

"Someone once asked me 'You have written a lot of superhit films. What is the formula to write superhit films?' I said if I knew it, then I would have always written a 'Sholay'. But I can tell you the formula to write a superflop, " the 68-year-old said here Thursday at the launch of Vijay Akela's poetry book "Lashkar".

"There are two ways - first when you think with great contempt that this is what the public wants. Second, when you think 'I want to say a very big and deep thing'. Both such films will be very bad because in both cases you are trying to hit a target without actually seeing it, " he added.

Javed has penned popular films like "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Yaadon Ki Baaraat", "Zanjeer", "Trishul", "Don", "Kaala Patthar" and "Shaan".

Meanwhile, when asked why do authors do not get due recognition, Akhtar said: "As a matter of fact, this is something the author should ask you (media). It is ultimately the society, the people who take notice and give respect to an author. "

"It is the responsibility of the author to write as well as he or she can and it is the society's responsibility to patronise, appreciate and encourage them, " he added.