Angry Young Men review: Steeped in nostalgia, simmered with insights, sizzling with inspiration

Angry Young Men review: Steeped in nostalgia, simmered with insights, sizzling with inspiration

What: ‘Angry Young Men’ - Delving deep into the lives of the ‘superstars’ writer-duo of yesteryears, Salim-Javed, the three-part docuseries recounts their days of glaze and glory with a passionate fervour.

Angry Young Men docuseries review

“Kitne Aadmi The? Do, Sarkar! “This iconic seminal dialogue from the cult classic, record-breaking film Sholay pretty much epitomizes the magnificent writer duo – Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar who created history in the annals of Hindi cinema.

With a staggering strike-rate of 22 blockbusters out of 24 films where they worked together as scriptwriters, they touched the pinnacle of success in the field which never commanded any reverence. They were termed the arrogant Brats, as Honey Irani quotes in the visual excerpts and miles away from being humble!

People would queue up at the ticket counters just to watch a Salim-Javed movie. They are the last of the Mohicans – who could pull audience to the cinema halls with their sheer writing prowess. The legendary duo redefined the template of screenwriting with blockbusters in their tray – Sholay, Deewaar, Trishul, Kaala Pathhar, Don, Shakti, Yaadon ki Baarat and many more. Together, they created the archetype of the ‘Angry Young Man’— a brooding anti-hero who captured the imagination of an entire nation with his rage, defiance, and quest for social justice. Salim-Javed tapped into the collective conscience of the country which was at the cusp of change.

Produced by their children – Salman Khan(SK Productions), Farhan Akhtar(Excel Entertainment) and Zoya Akhtar( Tiger Baby Productions), the documentary unfolds as a personal and candid account of their lives, their writing and their indefatigable legacy with a plethora of interviews from the duo themselves, families( Salman, Arbaaz, Honey Irani, Farhan Aktar, Zoya Akhtar Farah Khan, Shabana Azmi) and the distinguished film celebrities  - Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Ramesh Sippy, Ramesh Talwar, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Karan Johar, Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini and even footages of conversations with late Yash Chopra and Nirupa Roy.

Salim Khan recounts his growing years, gets misty-eyed while remembering her mother’s fading vision and terminal illness. Their writing acumen manifested from their personal and familial woes, the complex daddy issues and khuddari. Javed Saab gets pensive while reminiscing his days of struggle and penury. This documentary offers us the unheard nuggets and anecdotes from their growing years, their enduring partnership, their love lives, divorces and their much talked about fall-out.

Director Namrata Rao (known for her editing prowess in Kahaani, Lust Stories, Made in Heaven) capitalizes on their split not just on its face value, but also draws crucial reactions from their immediate family and friends. How it impacted the downstream legacy. As a result, watching Angry Young Men becomes such an immersive experience. It transports you to the 70s era and their reign – when they commanded whopping paychecks, surpassing those of the lead stars of projects.  The narrative is aided with catchy graphs and animations. I fell in love with its introductory casting roll which assembles the iconic heroes and the scenes from cult films like Deewaar, Yaadon ki Baarat and Don. Clearly, it has the stamp of an arduous endeavour – procuring the material and creating the montages out of them.

But they never reveal the real reasons for their split in 1982. However, a lot of mutual respect, compassion and admiration shines all the way during their conversations transcending the enormity of their work, success and failures.

Both also lament at the current plight of writers today. While there is a dearth of good writers, it is also a fact that they are writing in silos. Some writers, in the quest of power, turn into direction and end up being mediocre filmmakers. To be a good writer, you need to be a very good reader – Salim Khan asserts, and Javed Saab also shares a sneak peek into his voracious library.