‘Salman Was Chupchap’

It
was
a
day
with
a
difference
for
screenwriters
Salim-Javed
who
transformed
Hindi
cinema
in
the
1970s
with
films
like

Zanjeer,
Sholay,
Deewar
and

Don
when
their
families
got
together
to
hail
them
on
stage.

Salimsaab
and
Javedsaab
were
honoured
at
the
trailer
launch
of
a
new
docuseries
based
on
them,

Angry
Young
Men,
which
will
start
streaming
on
Amazon
Prime
Video
from
August
20.

Salim
Khan’s
son
Salman
Khan
and
Javed
Akhtar’s
son
Farhan
Akhtar
spoke
at
length
about
their
famous
dads.

“This
generation
doesn’t
want
to
be
men
any
more
but
these
two
here…,”
Salman
says
in
this
video.

Farhan
Akhtar
recalled
the
precious
advice
he
got
from
his
father
Javed
Akhtar:
‘We
come
from
a
long
tradition
where
sons
don’t
listen
to
their
fathers.
So
please
don’t
listen
to
me.
Go
ahead
and
do
whatever
you
want.’

He
also
talked
about
the
favourite
Salim-Javed
film
and
the
impact
it
had
on
him.

“I’ve
watched
all
their
work
umpteen
number
of
times,
be
it

Sholay,
Deewaar…
But
the
one
that
I
think
I’ve
watched
the
most,
that
they’ve
worked
on,
was

Kranti.
I’ve
watched,
I
don’t
know,
maybe
like
300
times.
It
was
highly
entertaining,”
Farhan
says.

“This
documentary
is
aptly
titled

Angry
Young
Men
because
they
brought
their
life
experience,
their
voice,
and
their
identity
into
the
character
that
we
all
come
to
know
as
Vijay.
And
that’s
left
like
a
lasting
impression
on
me,”
he
says.

While
speaking
about
his
favourite
dialogue,
Farhan
said,
“My
favourite
dialogue
I
have
actually
made
a
film
I
love
that
film
so
much
‘Don

ko
pakadna
mushkil
hi
nahi
namumkin
hai‘.”

But
to
paraphrase
a
line
that
they
used:
‘Lunch

kab
hai,
lunch

kab
hai,”
Farhan
said,
getting
many
laughs.

But
it
was
Salman
who
won
over
that
moment
when
he
named
his
favourite
dialogue:
“Mere
paas
ma
hai,
woh
bhi
do!,”
referring
to
his
mother
Salma
Khan
and
his
step
mother,
movie
legend
Helen.

Not
many
know
how
this
beautiful
partnership
was
born,
and
Javedsaab
tells
the
story.

Speaking
about
the
docuseries,
Salim
says,
“I
started
my
career
in
front
of
the
camera
but
realised
that
my
true
strength
lay
in
telling
stories.
That’s
when
I
decided
to
focus
on
what
came
naturally
to
me
—
writing.

“Then
I
met
Javed,
who
was
equally
passionate
about
writing
and
together,
we
did
some
fantastic
work,
which
I
am
very
proud
of.
We
had
an
excellent
run
and
achieved
great
success.

“We
also
challenged
industry
norms
along
the
way.
It
feels
wonderful
that
our
journey
is
being
documented
for
future
generations,
and
I
hope
they
will
be
inspired
to
do
their
best
and
not
be
confined
by
society’s
prescribed
roles.”

Javed
Akhtar
spills
the
beans:
Salman
was
‘chuchap‘,
but
the
‘badmash
bachcha‘
who
was
a
‘regular
seducer’
was
Arbaaz
Khan!

In
the
trailer,
Amitabh
Bachchan,
Salman
Khan,
Hrithik
Roshan,
Shabana
Azmi,
Farhan
Akhtar,
Karan
Johar
and
Jaya
Bachchan
speak
about
the
legendary
work
of
Salim
Khan
and
Javed
Akhtar.

Karan
highlights
how
Salim-Javed
were
the
highest
paid
individuals
in
the
film
industry,
and
charged
more
than
the
reigning
stars
of
the
era.

“Can
you
imagine
if
a
writer
today
said,
‘I
want
a
crore
more
than
Salman
Khan?’
That
was
the
power
of
Salim-Javed,”
Karan
said.

Angry
Young
Men,
produced
by
Salman
Khan
Films,
Excel
Media
&
Entertainment,
and
Tiger
Baby,
will
stream
on
Prime
Video
from
August
20.
The
docuseries
marks
the
directorial
debut
of
Namrata
Rao.

Photographs
curated
by
Satish
Bodas/Rediff.com