Why 'Angry Young Men' didn't appeal to me

Indian cinema can be divided into two eras: before Salim-Javed, and after Salim–Javed. However, Prime Video’s latest docuseries Angry Young Men doesn't do justice to the screenwriting duo who gave 10 blockbusters on the trot, twice during the '70s and the '80s.

There were many reasons why Angry Young Men didn’t appeal to me; the biggest one being that I expected it to give me something I didn’t know. Yes, the video clips from their films helped, but writer Diptakirti Chaudhri’s book, Written by Salim–Javed had more information about our favorite writers.

What is Angry Young Men about?

The three-part documentary series captures the personal and professional journey of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, who were known collectively as Salim-Javed. Produced by Salman Khan Films, Excel Media & Entertainment and Tiger Baby, the docuseries is a tribute to the famous duo, who revolutionized Indian cinema by introducing the 'Angry Young Man’ heroes that popularized the action-drama genre.

How they managed to create this space in the romance-dominated industry and how it changed the way films were being made is what this docuseries talks about. Everyone from Salim Khan's sons Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, to Javed Akhtar's kids Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar discuss the Salim-Javed era and give their two cents, which is admittedly a feat.

However, I had some issues with the docuseries, because of which I still rate Written by Salim-Javed as the best work about the writers behind Seeta Aur Geeta, Majboor, Deewar, Sholay, Trishul, Kaala Patthar, Don, Shaan, Shakti, Dostana, and Mr. India.

Let's address these issues.

Their split isn't explained properly

The docuseries doesn't give a specific reason regarding the Salim-Javed split; somewhere it is credited to ego issues, while elsewhere Javed Akhtar’s marital life is blamed. However, the real story remains hidden, which was Javed Akhtar’s desire to pursue a career as a lyricist.

Diptakirti Chaudhri’s book Written by Salim–Javed tackles that subject well, but the docuseries doesn’t. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity missed, considering both Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar had opened up about their careers after a very long time.

There was no mention of their post-split work, including Mr. India

Angry Young Men explores the Salim-Javed partnership which yielded 24 films in total, 22 of which were blockbusters. They split in 1982 but retained credit for Mr. India, which released in 1987, something which is missing in this documentary.

Also missing are the two screenwriters’ independent, post-split career. Yes, some of their films did well, but most - including Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja for Javed Akhtar and Majhdhaar for Salim Khan - did not.

Shaan was mentioned as a forgettable flick, when it wasn’t!

How can anyone claim that Salim–Javed’s Shaan was a huge flop, when Salim Khan admitted that it did well at the box office? Yes, it might not have been as huge a hit as Sholay, but to write off a highly entertaining movie is just criminal.

For me, watching Shaan is as much a treat as watching Sholay; the former had a better soundtrack, a contemporary theme and didn’t confine the story to a few individuals. And then there was Shakal, the bald antagonist played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda, who had explosive dialogues in his arsenal, and reminded the Indian audience of James Bond villains.

And to top it all, the two remaining leads of Shaan – Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan - were virtually nonexistent in the docu-series. It would have been interesting had Salim Khan or Javed Akhtar said something about who their original choice for Jaywas (it was Shatru, not Big B!), or about the many Hollywood films that inspired their work.

The Salim–Javed legacy

The docuseries talks about Salim–Javed as the only screenwriters who heralded Bollywood into the modern era, where story was as important as the cast. However, it doesn't mention the many contemporaries and successors who tried to emulate them. There was Kader Khan who was in direct competition with Salim–Javed as he got to work with the same lot. Then there was Dr. Rahi Masoom Raza who specialized in explosive dialogues as well as comedy during the 1980s.

Later on, screenwriters Kamlesh Pandey, Dilip Shukla, Abbas Tyrewala, also tried to follow the Salim–Javed format and succeeded in coming up with brilliant scripts. Yes, they might not have received the kind of response Salim–Javed did for their films, but their attempts were worth the audience’s time.