Hit jodi reunites: Salim-Javed to collaborate as writers for one last time

Amazon Prime is all set to release a documentary on iconic writer duo Salim-Javed, titled ‘Angry Young Men’, on August 20, 2024. Both Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar were present for the trailer launch along with their sons and daughter – Salman Khan, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar, along with other family members. Salman, Farhan and Zoya have also produced this documentary, which is directed by Namrata Rao.

While remembering their old days and how they got together, Javed said, “We never decided that we would start working together. It was not a conscious decision, it just happened. Incidentally, I was paid Rs 50 for my first job. I then received Rs 100 as fees for ‘Sarhadi Lutera’ (1966). It turned out to be one of the most important films in my career, because that’s where I met Salim sahab. He was the romantic lead in that film and I was writing dialogues for it. The director and the producer on the film troubled me a lot during that time, but it was Salim sahab who continuously motivated me to write. He said if you can write so well for a film like this, you can write so much better for good films.”

Continuing further, Javed said, “After that I shifted to Bandra and started living with a friend, who paid the rent. That was also when I started frequenting Salim sahab’s house because at least one meal was fixed for me. We used to sit and write stories. Around that time SM Sagar sahab, who made ‘Sarhadi Lutera’ and who had introduced us, told us to write a screenplay for that. We agreed. When I asked him how much he would pay us for it, he replied “Rs 5,000”. My heart skipped a beat on hearing that. We both wrote the screenplay for that film as ghost writers. We met a gentleman who happened to know that we had written the screenplay for that film. He asked us to go to Sippy Films. Though we were sceptical of getting a good response, we went to Sippy Films one afternoon, where we met Rajesh Khanna. He asked us to write the screenplay of ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’. So, there was no specific day when we decided to start working together and become partners. It just happened and we grew together, and the rest, as you know is history!”

Commenting on the partnership between his father Salim and Javed, Salman Khan said, “They’ve taken from life and put it on cinema, whereas what other writers do is cinema se uthake cinema mein daalte hai. God makes man, they don’t want to be men any more. This generation doesn’t want to be a men, but these two here, my father and Javed sahab, are men, and they want to be men.”

Responding to the Salim-Javed duo being called arrogant in their hey days, Salman said, “They had to refuse a lot of producers, actors due to the work load. So people started saying, ‘Yeh log apne aap ko samajhte kya hai? Inka dimag kharab ho gaya hai.’ But the truth was that their minds were working quite well as both were delivering hit after hit. It was only those with whom Salim-Javed could not work for various reasons such as lack of dates, or they didn’t like the plot or character, who tagged them saying, ‘Inka dimag kharab tha’, actually un sabka dimag kharab tha.”

Announcing the collaboration with Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar informed, “Now let me tell you that we are going to write together for one last time. I have spoken to him about it. Bas, ek aur picture hum saath likhenge. Uss zamane mein bhi humari price zyada thi, iss zamane mein toh bohot hi zyada hogi. Woh dekh lijiyega!”