Before the advent of television, many film lovers considered writers Salim and Javed to be the same name. It was indeed so. These two writers together gave a new identity to Hindi cinema in a period of twelve years. Before this, the actor’s own performance was the most important part of the film. This pair also elevated the story and dialogues to the status of heroes. Viewers remember a few dialogues from many films, but Zanjeer and Sholay are among those films whose almost all dialogues are etched in people’s minds. A documentary called ‘Angry Young Man’, a docu-series on the brilliant work and inspiring life of these two, has just been released.
Made a mark on his own
This magician pair of letters had made their mark on their own. They lived in poverty and gave the best stories and dialogues. They also showed arrogance for their identity. It so happened that in those days, writers’ names were not there on film posters. This was during the time of Prakash Mehra’s film Zanjeer. Both of them were hurt by this. They felt that like other actors associated with the film, their names should also be there in the film.
The posters were released. In those days, posters were made by hand. Names etc. were written on them. So nothing could be done now. Still, the ever winning duo of Salim Javed did not give up. They hired some painters on daily wages. They got Salim-Javed to write their names as writers on their posters all over the city of Bombay at that time. The next day, when Prakash Mehra and other filmmakers saw this, they realized that the names of writers should also be on the posters.
considered a guarantee of success
However, after the success of Zanjeer, it was believed that Salim Javed is the guarantee of the success of the film. What Sholay did is history. It is another matter that later this pair broke up. Still, from 1970 to the beginning of 80, this pair ruled the films for about 12 years. This pair gave about 24 films. Out of these, 20 were very successful. Their script was considered to mean the success of the film. The success that Don, Trishul and Kaala Patthar achieved has not been touched by any film till date. Along with being effective in their stories, the dialogues were so effective that people have not forgotten them till date. ….. When Sham Aaye, say that Chenu had come, or this is Police Station, not your father’s house….
FIRST PUBLISHED : August 20, 2024, 16:51 IST