Angry Young Men Review: Star Rating:
Cast: Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar ft. Salman Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Helen, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan & others
Creator: Salim-Javed
Director: Namrata Rao
Streaming On: Prime Video
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 3 episodes of 45 minutes each
Angry Young Men Review: What’s It About:
Let me start with an honest confession. I am an ardent Salim-Javed fan. In fact, this fan in me has been alive even at an age when I did not know what dialogues are and what film writers are. I did not know that two men called Salim Khan & Javed Akhtar are writing these stories to be etched in our hearts forever. I used to scare my little sister, saying, ‘Jo Dar Gaya Samjho Mar Gaya.’ I once teased a classmate, “Aaj mere paas Maa Hai’ during one of my mother’s visits to our hostel (and my classmate cried). I even used it last night on Raksha Bandhan, telling my brother – ‘Main Aaj Bhi Phenke Huye Paise Nahi Uthaata,’ and the room erupted with laughter. Such was the power of these little bunch of words placed intricately together. They could make you laugh & they could make you cry!
If we start writing the history of Hindi Cinema, Salim-Javed deserves a chapter. Two men who revolutionized cinema. A documentary on these two men could be a goldmine. The documentary series has been narrated by the stalwarts of the industry – Right from the star who was born because of them, Amitabh Bachchan, to men who grew up watching them – Hrithik Roshan, Yash, Karan Johar, and, of course, the children of Salim Khan & Javed Akhtar.
But why should one be watching a documentary on the lives of Salim Khan & Javed Akhtar? Stay with us till the end, and you might switch to the first episode immediately!
Angry Young Men Review: Script Analysis:
Angry Young Men: The Salim Javed Story starts with a confession by Salman Khan, who confides he is scared to talk about the two most influential men of Indian Cinema. The documentary is divided into three episodes. The first episode talks about the initial lives of the two writers, how they came to Mumbai, their struggles in the industry, how they found each other as partners, and how they found their real partners – Salma Khan & Honey Irani. A lot of unknown and fun anecdotes drop in, and while Salim Khan takes charge of humor, Javed Akhtar makes it anecdotal.
The second episode highlights the career highs and the celebration of Salim-Javed. The duo that turned around the page in cinema to write a new chapter. The chapter of the Angry Young Man giving birth to a superstar – the legendary Amitabh Bachchan. The third episode talks about the downfall, and the climax finally addresses the heartbreaking separation of the duo after working on 24 films together.
Right from the start to the finish, this finely structured series offers a lot of anecdotes to cherish. There is a story about Salim Khan’s first film and a hilarious reason for it to flop. There is a story on how they made sure that the world knows them by hiring a drunk man to write their name on the posters of their film. And there are a lot of anecdotes about the families hanging together – there’s one about how Salman Khan taught Farhan & Zoya to cycle!
Angry Young Men Review: What Works:
The entire series works beautifully for Angry Young Men. Right from the opening credits to the making of Vijay, an iconic screen name is used for Amitabh Bachchan’s characters. Mostly, while documentaries are a celebration of an icon’s success, Salim Khan & Javed Akhtar do not shy away from accepting their failures and talking about them. The more realistic part was that others also highlighted why The Salim-Javed Story failed. They talk, and they talk legitimately. While Jaya Bachchan calls them brats, Honey Irani calls them arrogant. Ramesh Talwar (Yash Chopra’s then-assistant) calls them overconfident.
The newspaper and magazine clippings of those times add authenticity to whatever everyone is talking about, and it is too intriguing to watch. A duo who was declared finished came back with Sholay. The duo highlighted the mistakes in their writing that brought their first flop at the box office.
While Salim Khan usually seems to be at a loss of words while talking, somehow reflecting the emptiness he still holds (probably), and Javed Akhtar seems too much in a hurry to confess, all probably coping with some inner guilt of taking the blame for this relationship to end. From two men who were more than brothers, as Arbaaz Khan calls them, soulmates, as someone else tags them, to literally turning their back to each other and not coming back again to look, is a heartbreaking episode that would tear you apart. (Jaya Bachchan even ends up discussing the separation). I didn’t realize it, but I gasped for breath while crying during the final 20 minutes of the documentary. Meanwhile, Salman Khan’s wisdom while talking about the separation will leave you with a broken smile!
Angry Young Men Review: What Doesn’t Work:
However, this beautifully done, intricately written, fascinating tale falls short of time. The entire journey of Salim Khan & Javed Akhtar could not be justified in three episodes. At the same time, one would expect professional tales of their collaborations, like how Don happened, what they thought before writing Sholay, and how Deewar developed. But the documentary never offers these insights. It sticks to celebrating Salim Khan & Javed Akhtar but never dives deep to realize what led to those celebrations and all the effort behind reaching that celebration!
While there is a subtle and diplomatic chat around the separation, there is no mention of their final project, Mr India, altogether. Was there any turbulence during that project? Were there inhibitions, fights, disagreements, or creative conflicts? Nothing gets addressed!
Angry Young Men Review: Last Words:
Being a very submissive Salim-Javed fan, I did not have many expectations from this documentary series. I did not believe that there would be much clarity about how they came together and why they parted. The same thing happened with this documentary as well. But is the Salim-Javed fan in me disappointed over this? No! Because everything else that this documentary offers is a tale to treasure. The only disappointment is the series ending too soon! And the way this docu-series has been structured does not give any hope for a comeback! Alas!