Angry Young Men REVIEW: The docuseries telling the untold stories of Javed Akhtar & Salim Khan is a masterpiece

Film:
Angry Young Men

Director: Namrata Rao

Cast: Salim Khan, Javed Akhtar, Salman Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Amitabh Bachchan, Helen, Shabana Azmi & many more

Runtime: 136 minutes approx (3 episodes of 45 minutes each)

Platform: Prime Video

Angry Young Men Review

Angry Young Men is a 3-part docu-series that dwells into the personal and professional lives of Salim-Javed. For the unversed, Salim Khana and Javed Akhtar were two young men who came to the city decades ago and revolutionized Indian cinema. They introduced the ‘angry young man’ heroes in Bollywood, making action dramas a beloved genre when romantic drama dominated at the box office. The duo – who penned the screenplay and dialogues for films like Deewar, Don, Sholay, Trishul, and Dostana, were much sought-after despite them charging more than a film’s lead actor at the peak of their career.

The just-released series- co-produced by Salim and Javed’s kids – Salman Khan, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar, is an insightful look into the struggles Salim – then an aspiring lead actor, and Javed – a struggling writer, had to go through both in their personal and professional lives before becoming the legends they are today. The series is brutal, honest, heart-touching and most of all, motivational. Scroll below to read our honest review of Angry Young Men.

What’s Works

There are many things that work in making Angry Young Men a masterpiece. The 3-part docu-series is a must-watch for all who love cinema – especially Bollywood, for a number of reasons such as the screenplay and editing (syncing of the different stories narrated by actors, filmmakers, family members, trade personalities and fans from different parts of India). Salim-Javed were great storytelling, and this show talking about their lives, live up to the stands we had in mind.

Under Namrata Rao’s guidance, the team have made use of a number of archival footage (it includes onset footage and interviews of late directors) to give the audience a feel of exactly how much impact Salim-Javed had on the industry with their writing. The show features cameos appearance – aka actors, filmmakers and more personalities recalling the impact Salim-Javed films have at the box office, their careers and the lives of the public.

While the writing is top-notch and so is the flow in which the stories are told – each episode focuses on certain periods of their lives, the use filler scenes such as the audience waiting in line to buy the tickets for Sholay, fans enjoying Salim-Javed’s cult classic in single-screen theatres, iconic scenes from their blockbuster hits and the use of black and white photos dug up from the archives is refreshing. The editing of the series is done beautifully with the episodes – despite being 45 minutes each, not seeming long. In fact, the audience wouldn’t mind an extra 10 minutes added to each episode.

The introductory scene of each episode will take you back in time and shouldn’t be skipped. The series features a lot of sweet moments beautifully captured by Rao and her team. Other technical aspects – such as the cinematography, camera work, effects and music are also well done.

What Doesn’t Work

The only drawback I personally have with this series is that it’s not long enough. While the 130+ minute long series does give us an insight into the personal and professional lives of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, the series doesn’t actually tell us why Salim-Javed split and how their careers have panned out since. We DEFINITELY would have loved to see more actors who frequently collaborated with them relate a couple more stories of their lives. So basically, there’s nothing wrong, we just wanted more.

Conclusion

This 3-part docuseries that tells the untold stories of Javed Akhtar & Salim Khan is a masterpiece. The series gives viewers a no-filter insight into what made Salim-Javed the legends they are today. Hope our Angry Young Men review was insightful.

Watch the trailer of Angry Young Men here:

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