When the screenplay of a documentary series on arguably the greatest screenwriting duo of Bollywood is tight, compelling, and heartwarming, you know you are in a good place as the audience. Angry Young Men, a three-part series directed deftly by Namrata Rao, is unflinching in celebrating Salim-Javed. And why not?
As Javed's daughter Zoya Akhtar says, the duo wrote 24 screenplays, of which 22 were stupendous hits — a record that will likely remain unsurpassable. The series, jointly produced by the children of the two has, deliberately or otherwise, the look and feel of a slick home video that has been thoughtfully converted into a tribute to the two fathers who clearly mean much to them.
This is evident in the awe they project for their work and wisdom and the indulgence in which their flaws and digressions (such as their extra-marital affairs) have been portrayed. On that note, the injections of Honey Irani's honesty and Helen's matter-of-fact observations prevent the series from slipping into full-on gush.
Although most of the incidents and anecdotes in the documentary are part of film lore, it is a fascinating look back at an age of angst and how it birthed not just some great cinema but also one of our greatest superstars (Amitabh Bachchan), not to mention this duo who demanded (and got) their rightful share of fame and money.
In fact, apart from certain intriguing revelations about the division of labour between Salim and Javed (the story was Salim's while Javed wrote the dialogues and the screenplay was usually a true collab), what stands out is how similar and yet different these two are. Both lost their mothers early, both came to Bombay quite empty handed but both had a strange confidence that they would make it big.
Both were handsome and "arrogant", as Honey Irani puts it. What's more, they may have had different opinions about a host of things but they were in step when it came to the progressive values they believed in, the self-reflection they practised and their remarkable wit and chutzpah. A nod to the neatly done title sequence, the groovy 'Vijay' rap and the end credits with the photo-candids, all of which add to the experience.
All of us who grew up either watching or hearing about Sholay, Zanjeer, Deewar, Trishul, Seeta Aur Geeta and Yaadon Ki Baraat, have a bit of Salim-Javed within us, as Hrithik Roshan says.
'Kitney aadmi they? Sardar, do aadmi they'. Two men who may or may not have been angry but who certainly sparkled like no one else did.