Meet The *Real* Stars Of Sholay

Salim-Javed
became
the
first
Hindi
film
writers
who
could
be
considered
brands,
and
they
are
still
boldface
names,
celebrities
in
their
own
right,
chronicles
Dinesh
Raheja.

While
the
Hindi
film
industry
pays
lip
service
to
the
importance
of
writers,
only
a
few
cineastes
are
familiar
with
the
names
of
the
award-winning
story-writers
of
classic
films
of
the
1950s
and
1960s.

Personal
branding
may
be
considered
modern
marketing
jargon
but
renowned
screenwriting
duo
Salim-Javed
perfected
this
technique
50
years
ago.

The
duo
were
the
true
pathbreakers:
They
became
the
first
Hindi
film
writers
who
could
be
considered
brands,
and
they
are
still
boldface
names,
celebrities
in
their
own
right.

Salim-Javed
broke
into
prominence
after
writing
a
spate
of
action-packed
blockbusters
in
the
1970s
(Zanjeer,
Deewaar,
Sholay,
Don)
and
shaping
Amitabh
Bachchan’s
superstardom
in
the
early
years
of
his
success.
They
built
a
public
identity
so
strong
that
they
were
pioneering
star
writers;
the
first
pen-pushers
to
have
huge
sums
on
their
payment
cheques.

It
is
a
testament
to
Salim-Javed’s
status
as
writers
that
neither
of
them
ever
veered
towards
direction;
they
were
lionised
as
story
spinners
who
could
create
impactful
scenarios
and
embellish
them
with
instantly
quotable
dialogue.

Consider
these
highly
charged
scenes
created
by
the
duo:

In

Sholay,
Thakur
(Sanjeev
Kumar),
whose
arms
had
been
cut
off
earlier
by
dacoit
Gabbar
Singh
(Amjad
Khan),
finally
wrecks
revenge
on
him,
screaming
viscerally
for
all
that
he
has
lost:
‘Mujhe
mere
haath
de
de,
Gabbar!
(Give
me
my
hands
back,
Gabbar!)’.

In

Trishul,
Sanjeev
Kumar
confronts
the
man
(Amitabh
Bachchan),
who
has
destroyed
his
business
but
learns
that
he
is
his
illegitimate
son
from
a
woman
he
had
abandoned
and
is
told
‘Aur
aap
mere
najayaz
baap
hain
(You
are
my
illegitimate
father)’.

In

Deewaar,
a
criminal
(Amitabh
Bachchan)
flaunts
his
worldly
wealth
and
compares
it
with
the
paltry
gains
his
police
officer
brother
(Shashi
Kapoor)
has
earned
from
following
the
path
of
virtue.
Only
to
be
blindsided
when
the
brother
righteously
retorts:
‘Mere
paas
maa
hain‘
(Our
mother
is
on
my
side)’.

Ironically,
the
authors
behind

Deewaar,
a
seminal
film
on
the
mother-son
relationship,
both
lost
their
own
mothers
in
childhood.

Both
Salim
(born
1935)
and
Javed
(born
1945)
also
spent
their
early
years
in
central
Indian
towns.

Salim
Khan’s
youthful
good
looks
prompted
him
to
move
from
Indore
to
Bombay
to
try
his
luck
as
an
actor
in
the
early
1960s.

The
voracious
reader
appeared
in
several
films,
largely
in
peripheral
roles
but
played
the
lead
in

Bachpan
(1963)
which
had
the
glittering
Rafi
gem

Mujhe
Tumse
Mohabbat
Hai
composed
by
Anu
Malik’s
father
Sardar
Malik.

Javed
Akhtar
came
from
a
family
of
poets
(father
Jan
Nissar
Akhtar
was
a
Bollywood
lyricist),
so
it
was
only
natural
that
he
moved
from
Bhopal
to
Bombay
when
he
was
barely
19.

Hard
up
for
money,
he
slept
in
parks
and
studio
compounds
till
he
started
doing
the
odd
writing
assignment
for
films.

One
such
film
was
the
swashbuckler

Sarhadi
Lootera
during
the
shooting
of
which
he
befriended
Salim
Khan,
an
actor
then.

The
two
were
raring
to
reverse
their
languishing
professional
fortunes,
and
decided
to
team
up.

Their
first
major
breakthrough
came
with
the
Shammi
Kapoor-Hema
Malini
drama

Andaaz
(1971)
though
they
were
only
credited
for
additional
script
work
as
part
of
the
Sippy
Films
story
department.

The
film
was
directed
by
Ramesh
Sippy
with
whom
they
later
collaborated
on

Seeta
Aur
Geeta,
Shaan,
Shakti
and
most
famously

Sholay.

Word
spread
fast
about
Salim-Javed’s
way
with
words
and
they
were
pencilled
in
to
author
the
screenplay
of
the
Rajesh
Khanna
blockbuster

Haathi
Mere
Saathi
(1971).

What
quickly
made
these
cultural
arrivistes
a
force
to
reckon
with
was
when
they
took
charge
of
all
three
writing
departments
—
story,
screenplay
and
dialogue
—
in

Zanjeer
(1973)
and
the
film
proved
a
tremendous
crowd-pleaser.

The
film’s
hero
Amitabh
Bachchan
had
hitherto
been
dismissed
as
a
flop
and
Director
Prakash
Mehra
had
only
enjoyed
mid-level
success
previously
so
Salim-Javed
cornered
a
significant
portion
of
the
credit.

And
the
marketing
savvy

jodi
made
sure
of
this
by
fighting
against
the
norm
and
personally
ensuring
their
names
were
splashed
on
the
film’s
posters.

This
achievement
was
amplified
further
when
they
scored
two
through-the-roof
megahits
in
1975
with
Yash
Chopra’s

Deewaar
and
Ramesh
Sippy’s

Sholay.

These
three
films
proved
to
be
disruptors,
decisively
changing
the
cinematic
tide
from
Rajesh
Khanna
romances
to
Amitabh
Bachchan
actioners.

Salim-Javed
became
famous
as
the
architects
of
Amitabh
Bachchan’s
‘Angry
Young
Man’
persona.

Their
films
showcased
the
star
as
a
brooding
loner
whose
silences
are
only
broken
by
a
laconic
quip
or
a
barbed
rejoinder.

The
contemporaneous
socio-economic
factors
in
the
still
young
nation
favoured
the
rise
of
a
heroic
figure
who
could
fight
against
huge
odds
and
emerge
triumphant.

Salim-Javed
continued
projecting
Amitabh
in
this
light
with

Trishul
(1978)
and

Kaala
Patthar
(1979)
but
when
outside
films
like

Amar
Akbar
Anthony
added
a
lighthearted
aspect
to
his
personality,
they
too
incorporated
it
in
their
films
like

Don
(1978)
which
had
the
actor
dancing
joyously
to

Khaike
Paan
Benaraswala.

Besides
action,
another
characteristic
of
Salim-Javed’s
creations
was
their
pivoting
around
a
thirst
for
revenge
as
evidenced
in

Zanjeer,
Yaadon
Ki
Baraat,
Sholay
and

Trishul.
They
created
grandiosely
named
megavillains
for
their
heroes
to
combat:
Tejaa
(Zanjeer),
Gabbar
Singh
(Sholay),
Shakaal
(Shaan)
and
Mogambo
(Mr
India).

Salim-Javed’s
scripts
were
unabashedly
male-oriented
(Basanti
in

Sholay
is
a
rare
memorable
female
creation)
and
most
had
multiple
heroes
headlining
the
cast.

Ironically,
their
two-hero
films
celebrated
male
bonding
and
strength
in
unity
but
they
themselves
seem
to
forget
that
lesson.

In
the
early
’80s,
ego
clashes
resulted
in
a
long
imminent
split.
It
spelt
curtains
for
their
long
string
of
successes
with
only
the
occasional
misstep
like

Imaan
Dharam.
It
was
truly
the
end
of
an
era.

Individually,
neither
could
thereafter
scale
their
earlier
heights
as
screenwriters.

Javed
made
a
successful
start
with

Betaab
(1983)
but
subsequent
setbacks
saw
him
flourish
as
a
lyricist
instead.

Similarly,
Salim
too
made
a
solo
with

Naam
(1986)
before
a
series
of
disappointments
and
advancing
age
convinced
him
to
rest
on
his
laurels.

They
also
entered
into
second
marriages
with
well-known
actresses,
Helen
and
Shabana
respectively.

Today,
the
baton
may
well
have
been
passed
onto
the
next
generation
—
Salim’s
son
Salman
is
a
major
film
star
and
Javed’s
children
Farhan
and
Zoya
are
successful
film-makers
—
but
in
their
halcyon
days,
Salim-Javed
could
well
be
credited
with
linking
guns
and
prose
together
in
the
creation
of
superior
cinema.