Both Khan and Akhtar tend to drop profound philosophies in between casual conversations. Unlike most writers, they are at ease facing the camera and aren’t unwilling to get personal. Akhtar, in an emotional sequence, opens up on his struggles. How he came to Mumbai in a third-class train compartment with no space to get a shut eye. How there were times when he didn’t have anything to eat (His wife Shabana Azmi also talks about the time when he hadn’t had a morsel of food for three days). “Deprivation of food and sleep can leave a deep impact on a person,” says Javed. “Now, when I go to five-star hotels I get breakfast in a trolley. Butter, jam, fried eggs, coffee…I still feel like it is not for me. It is somebody else’s.” His hands shake as he reigns in his emotions.We also get a peep into the creative process of Khan and Akhtar. They aren’t afraid to admit that they did steal some ideas from the Westerns (The same-faced coin in Sholay wasn’t an original). How their personal struggles and anger with the system birthed the Angry Young Man. Cultural context is also provided on why the character, immortalised as Amitabh Bachchan’s Vijay, resonated with the collective conscience of a nation (“People wanted a hero who could get things done”). The documentary gives a comprehensive and wholesome view of two people and an era.The line-up is also quite impressive. Apart from the writers’family, there are filmmakers like Karan Johar, Rajkummar Hirani and Shyam Benegal, giving insights into the phenomena of Salim-Javed. “I admired their ability to draw audiences and even, to some extent, envied them,” says Benegal. Film critic Anupama Chopra and trade analyst Komal Nahta are also roped in to explain how Salim-Javed had the numbers going for them (their strike rate was unparallelled, 22 hits out of 24 films they worked together on). The most interesting insights into these two men’s men comes from the women in their lives. Akhtar’s ex-wife Honey Irani’s anecdotes of him and their marriage gives a sweet touch and humanises the legend. She reminisces how he proposed to her during a rummy game on set. “His luck was bad that day and he asked me to pull a card. I did and he folded. He then asked my hand for marriage,” she says. “I should have known that gambling doesn’t pay,” she adds with a guffaw.Angry Young Men benefits a lot from the intrigue around its subjects. Cinematically, it’s a straight documentary, with a lot of people coming in and commenting on the lives and films of Salim-Javed. If not experimental, it is still an enjoyable watch, full of trivia and nostalgia. The question of why they split up is dealt with honestly but it might not be satisfactory. Some things you know, some are discoveries. It’s ultimately all about these two star-writers, Salim and Javed, you could just hear them talk all day.Directed by: Namrata RaoFeaturing: Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar, Salman Khan, Zoya Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar, Arbaaz KhanStreaming on: Prime VideoRating: 3.5/5
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