Angry Young Men – Season 1 – the three part documentary on Prime Video is extremely engaging, well edited biography of the legendary screen writers Salim Javed that slickly goes back and forth charting the extraordinary journey of these two outsiders who broke through the Bollywood citadel in the 70s – writes Rajeshwari Kalyanam
Salim-Javed did about 24 films together out of which 22 were blockbusters, not to mention the several others where they were an integral part of the writing team. Ofcourse, every film lover of India know Salim-Javed and that they are the names associated with many super hit films including the cult classic Sholay. And, the lines they wrote are immortalised in popular culture – be it Gabbar Singh’s Kitne Aadmi The – which is the opening line of Angry Young Men series – or Mere Paas Maa Hai that even AR Rehman referred to on Oscar Stage – scores of such massy lines that made the likes of Amitabh Bachchan. Who can forget his Zanjeer that made him the Angry Young Vijay of all times.
But when put in actual numbers – the strike rate of their filmography is mind boggling. The docu-series on the two – aptly titled Angry Young Men on Prime Video also starts with a bang throwing at us nostalgia, tit-bits, gossip and slice of life and the two stars of writing themselves sharing snippets from their early life – Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, who have revolutionized film writing.
They were apparently the brats who called the shots and you will know why when their children Salman Khan – Farhan Akhtar, and the other popular actors and film personalities start sharing what they heard, experienced and saw. Karan Johar shares how there were a time when the duo said – they wanted to be paid one lakh more than the hero of the film. And, when there was no tradition of putting the writer’s name on the poster – they actually hired sent men to actually write their names on the posters that were already put up on walls.
Call it confidence or arrogance – here were two screen writers – when their name came on screen as Story – Screenplay – Dialogues – Salim-Javed – the audience knew they were in for a whole lot of entertainment. And, the writers knew their worth and did not shy away from the fame.
This four-part series is a must-watch for every Hindi film movie buff and pretty inspiring to say the least. When Salim saab talks about the first ambition that he has had – that he is able to afford to stay in a room all by himself, which he otherwise had to share with one more person when he first came to Mumbai. To imagine that all it took was talent and a whole lot of hard work – and the city of Mumbai does indeed make dreams come true. By the way – he says – he never could stay in the room on his own as he wished.
Javed came to Mumbai to work as Assistant Director. He began working as an apprentice at Rs 50 per month. And Javed saab takes us through these memories showing us the studio and locations, which is quite endearing.
By shifting from present to past and back quite effortlessly the documentary series showcases the life and times, and films of Salim-Javed who are an integral part of Hindi film industry.
The documentary series on these two legends is indeed a well thought through and sensibly put together project which is engaging from the word go. The handsome men started young and could have been actors – but their talent was lying elsewhere, and the film industry was lucky to have discovered this; or perhaps it was the two dashing young men that broke through the fortress called the Hindi film industry as Mahesh Bhatt said during the course of the first episode.
The series produced by Salman Khan’s production and Arbaaz, and Sohail Khan has a good technical team and one must mention the editing which does not let attention of viewers drift. Memories shared by families of the two which are quite illustrious on their own, friends, associates, film critics – you name them they are all there — making it an exhaustive and – if one may call it educative production.
Here’s a invaluable documentation – and a precious biography – a success story that is powerful with real emotions of people, who may now be rich and successful – but their stories are real, and inspiring.
Angry Young Men on Prime Video
Starring Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar, Salman Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Arbaaz Khan and Zoya Akhtar.
Directed by Namrata Rao Produced by Salman Khan Films, Excel Media and Entertainment, and Tiger Baby
https://bit.ly/AngryYoungMenOnPrime
About Angry Young Men
Angry Young Men is the story of Salim-Javed, legendary screenwriters of 1970s Hindi cinema. Together, they created the archetype of the Angry Young Man – a brooding anti-hero who captured the imagination of an entire nation with his rage, defiance, and quest for social justice. Like the character they created, Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, two outsiders to the Hindi film industry, defied all odds, questioning the position of writers and demanding recognition as much as the reigning stars of that time. Their break-up made headlines for many years and Indian cinema never saw a cultural collaboration as powerful again. This is a personal and candid account of their lives, their writing and their legacy.
