We Did It Without Knowing…

Salim-Javed – the name is enough. The superhit screenplay writers of the 70s, who had written the new rules of Hindi cinema, captured the public sentiment in its purest form in their iconic blockbusters. Speaking to NDTV’s Nikunj Garg and Marya Shakil on the show India Through the Eyes of Its Icons, Javed Akhtar was asked to chart the winning formula of their stories which resonated with an entire generation. Javed Akhtar recalled, “In retrospect, we had no idea. I am so happy that we didn’t know that. If we knew what society wants, what society was looking for, it means we would be looking at society from outside and prescribing medicines. No, we were part of the society, we were breathing the same air, we were feeling the way your neighbour was feeling. We did that without knowing that everybody was feeling the same thing. It was a much better situation, instead of  sitting on a pedestal and thinking, ‘Oh, these people wanted such stories.’ We did it because we wanted such stories. And fortunately, circumstances were such like everybody wanted these stories.”

Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan worked together in 24 films between 1971 and 1987, out of which 20 were commercially and critically successful. They wrote screenplays for hit films like Seeta Aur Geeta, Zanjeer, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Deewaar, Sholay, Trishul, Don, Kaala Patthar, Shaan, to name a few.

Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan recently attended a special screening of Sholay, arranged on the occasion of the film completing 49 years. The duo grabbed the headlines as the Amazon Prime series Angry Young Men released and brought back the golden days of cinema to the new generations. The docu-series has been directed by Namrata Rao. The series received stellar reviews from critics and audience alike.