Angry Young Men Review - Salim Khan - Javed Akhtar’s iconic jodi presented with warmth and insightful anecdotes

Those who have grown up in the seventies, eighties and even the early nineties will surely swear by the magic that was created by the inimitable duo of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, who were (and are) best known as the extremely popular Salim-Javed. Prime Video's Angry Young Men is the much-needed ode to the duo and their seamless contribution to the world of Hindi cinema in the form of cult films like Zanjeer, Sholay, Don, Deewaar Dostana, and Mr. India... their last venture together, before they parted ways. 

Angry Young Men is a three-part series and each part is worth its weight in gold. The first part is all about the introduction of Salim-Javed to the audience and how they became the inseparable writing pair that Bollywood will always remember. The first series starts off with Salim Khan, in his inimitable style, saying that, ‘After seeing this, he should be getting a call from Hollywood stating that they are short of stars’.

He then goes onto candidly confess that, initially he used to think of himself as James Dean. And then, post the release of Devdas, he used to oscillate his thoughts thinking of him as James Dean as well as Devdas! And, when the interviewer tells him to wipe off the sweat from his forehead, he takes a tissue to wipe and says, ‘Taqdeer hai ye meri, kahin mit naa jaaye”… Well… that’s Salim Khan or Salim saab for you, raw, pure and straightforwardly witty!

The first (and the most expected) person to speak about Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar is Salman Khan! By his own admission, Salman Khan said that, even though he had done lots of interviews, this was the first time he had gotten nervous!’. His nervousness is understandable, as he was fearing that anything he tells / speaks about Dad (Salim Khan) or Javed uncle, should not rub them the wrong way!

This is then followed by clips of celebs including the veteran actor Dharmendra, Mahesh Bhatt, Zoya Akhtar, Abhishek Bachchan, Shweta Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Rajkumar Hirani, Arbaaz Khan, Shyam Benegal, Ashutosh Gowariker, Yash, Jaideep Sahani, Sharat Saxena, Ranveer Singh, Shabana Azmi, Jaya Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Honey Irani, Sriram Raghavan, Ramesh Talwar, Rahul Rawail, Nirupa Roy, Prem Chopra, Reema Kagti, Varun Grover and the eternal Amitabh Bachchan. The icing on the cake, however, is a dated footage of the late Yash Chopra. All of the aforementioned celebs not just describe the mettle that Salim and Javed are made up of, but also their association with the duo!

While celebs like Mahesh Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Rajkumar Hirani, Shyam Benegal and others spoke about the impact of Salim-Javed in Bollywood, the candid confessions made by Salman Khan, Zoya Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Farhan Akhtar and Honey Irani as they recall their lives and relationships that they shared with the duo, are the ones that really stand out. 

Also Read: Docuseries celebrates the legacy of writer duo Salim-Javed 

Actress Shabana Azmi giving credit to Honey Irani and the legendary actress Helen's presentation in the series simply ups the documentray by notches! Additionally, the manner in which Javed Akhtar’s scene has been shot (of the first part), where he is on the verge of breaking down while talking about ‘aukaat’ has been beautifully shot! Amidst all this, do not miss the scene which mirrors Salim Khan's venture into acting and also the reason for him to pull humself back from it is simply awesome. 

The next scene, which really stands out is where Javed Akhtar tells (read ‘confesses’) that he feels guilty about Honey Irani and that he was majorly responsible for their break-up. One can only imagine the amount of conviction that the otherwise guarded Javed must have had in the director to have openly spoken about his failed relationship with Honey Irani.

Also Read: Salim-Javed's documentary titled Angry Young Men  

The docu series Angry Young Men is definitely a priceless masterpiece for all those who grew up listening to the stories of the two gentle screenplay giants of Bollywood viz., Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. This series is also highly recommended to all those who want to make screenplay writing as a career.

Even though many would have liked to know the reason, the series’ director Namrata Rao (her debut project) chose to let the bygones be bygones and not delve too much to sensationalise the real reason behind the break-up of Salim and Javed. Full marks to her for having presented the series with such senstivity. 

As for the technical aspects of the docu-series, the editing (Geeta Singh) could have been a bit more watertight in a few places. Even though the series is all about the real-life recall of the two greats of Bollywood, trimming at a few places could have done wonders to the overall presentation.

On the other hand, the cinematography (Siddharth Kale) is good, although, one would have loved a bit more candid moments of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. The background music is effective and blends seamlessly with the series.

All in all, Angry Young Men is a must watch for one and all. Very strongly recommended. No two ways about it!

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